xix. dictated, action

[heloise]

Lana
How about an early morning ride?

Micheletto
You will help me with my crates. [ Because packing is tough. ]

Stephanie
Tell me if you mean to visit, even if not to see me. He would not find unexpected guests so pleasant.

What does it mean when the castle gave some no glimpse of old age?

[ Lucrezia is on her knees in the church in town, hands counting through her white rosary and reciting her prayers under her breath. She keeps her hood over her head.

It might seem foolish to believe that saying something over and over again gives it greater weight, or that time and voice can buy penance, but she feels she must at least-- try. She isn't praying for her own soul, she wonders if she would ever. But she loses count of how many times she has said the Ave Maria, and stands to go. ]

Comments

[ofhope]

[ Joshua's leaning forward, catching himself with a disappointed expression as she pulls away. He keeps hold of her hand, though his grip is loose, eventually letting it fall away when she actually reaches the door. Wench. He needs a minute. ]

You still have surprises, even for me.

[heloise]

[ Lucrezia hovers by the door and waits for him, biting back a grin. She runs away because she knows he would follow, but she won't let him today, in case she only ends up in tears and ruins the moment for both of them. ]

Should I fear the day when I run out of them, like Scheherazade and her stories?

[ofhope]

[ As easily as he normally goes with the flow, Joshua doesn't mind as much as some men might. He loves simple pleasures; all of them, not just the most obvious that mindless people always rush towards. Besides, as upset as she's been, he knows he shouldn't expect more. Women are like that, aren't they?

Standing, he finally moves to follow, though he'll take the panties to let them hang off his fingertips while reaching down to pick up her old dress. ]

When she ran out of stories, she got true love and three sons. What's to fear?

[heloise]

[ Welp. She laughs and tries to swipe the panties from him. ]

Ah, but that is because her king grew wiser and kinder in time. Would you?

[ofhope]

[ Nope, he's bunching them up in his hand and stuffing them into his duster's pocket. Someone shouldn't have followed his advice, perhaps... ]

Do I need to?

[heloise]

[ HEY. She makes a pout, so close to stomping her foot. At least now it's out of view... ]

If I am to have any chance of surviving my one-thousand and second night.

[ofhope]

[ He chuckles, unsure if he should be insulted her just plain amused. Well, he has actually grown quite a bit since his first arrival, though he might be the first to argue that. To suggest he's lost his edge...

Although he has now been reduced to a panty thief. ]

Almost three years away. I think we'll have time. Maybe we should worry more about when I run out of surprises.

[heloise]

[ Lucrezia gives him a sly look, unlocking the door with a click. Oh, look, the poor shopgirl is still there! ]

You have no reason to worry. I have no taste for beheading and such things.

[ofhope]

Blood is impossible to get out of silk...

[ Seriously, the poor shop girl, who he just smiles and waves to in passing, handing her the old dress for her to bag up nicely. It's quite a lot of fabric, really. ]

[heloise]

But it does not show on black.

[ Meanwhile Lucrezia only gives her an amused smile, watching Joshua to make sure he doesn't then pull out her panties for public view... ]

[ofhope]

[ He'll be a good boy, they're staying hidden. Joshua will linger in case she wants to get something else, though. ]

I guess I better be the one to handle any beheadings, then.

[heloise]

[ She wants to get the entire store, but that would make packing even harder than it already is, so she starts walking away again once the shopgirl has gone away to package her dresses. She holds out a hand for him. ]

Are there not more elegant modes of punishment?

[ofhope]

[ Joshua thinks she still needs some sort of coat or jacket to keep from freezing when going outside, so he'll reach out for her hand, pulling her with him while he looks around the store. ]

It depends on what kind of point you want to make.

[heloise]

[ She squeezes his hand and follows along. ]

Something to deter upheavals. Fear, I think, is the point.

[ofhope]

[ Joshua could never downplay the power of fear. ]

Is that how you would rule?

[heloise]

No. [ She is quiet for long enough. ]

If I were to rule, I would see the people love me, but it is foolish to hope so from the Italians.

[ofhope]

[ That receives a quizzical look, away from the skirts and jackets. ]

Because you're Spanish?

[heloise]

[ He gets a smile at that. Four for you, Christopher. ]

Because we are Spaniards who dared to rise above them.

[ofhope]

[ Yes thank you, he rocks. ]

It isn't as if the Pope has to be Italian, anyway.

[ He'll resist the urge to point out that the Pope's nothing but a fancy figurehead. He thinks the same of all kings and queens, really, despite his constant references. Logic has no place in fantasies and romance. ]

The papacy seems too focused on rules and limitations.

[heloise]

[ Most power is built on belief, none more so than the papacy, but she figures he knows another kind based on things less feeble. She lets go of his hand to fiddle with a cream-colored coat, cut like a soldier's uniform. ]

The game is about how to bend the rules to one's will. That was how he annulled my marriage.

[ofhope]

From Sforza? He was humiliated, wasn't he?

[heloise]

The Church declared him impotent. [ Somehow that brings her little joy anymore. ]

Then my brother murdered him to bring me the knife with his blood.

[ofhope]

[ This is Joshua not looking surprised. It's a pretty redundant look, really, but he'll try to throw in some mild approval with his nod as he reaches out to play with her hair again, piling it up and bowing down to kiss the nape of her neck. Who cares what anyone else in the store thinks? ]

I hope he tortured him first.

[heloise]

[ Who cares indeed. She places a hand against his side, crumpling his suit a moment before she remembers, muttering back. ]

He was trying to find me his heart.

[ofhope]

[ Snaking an arm around her waist, he lets her hair drop back down over her shoulder, stroking it affectionately with his other hand. ]

I hear hearts can be tough to choke down raw.