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]

[ 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.

[heloise]

[ The thought of Sforza still has her shaking with fear or is it rage now? He should have been humiliated, beaten, see every shred of his innocence torn apart and if he has none then his skin would do. But she just holds on tighter and clamps her mouth against his shoulder so the thoughts wouldn't escape her lips. She allows a wry chuckle. ]

How would it look on a silver dinner plate?

[ofhope]

Well... Silver doesn't stain.

[ Even without noise, Joshua can recognize this kind of desperation, but it doesn't worry him much. As she said, the man's dead. ]

He won't show up here.

[heloise]

[ It's hatred and fury. She knows their proper names now. ]

No, he won't. [ She tries to pull back to show him that she is fine. ] And white, I think, for my cloak.

[ofhope]

[ She doesn't need to 'show' him anything, but he'll play along, rarely reluctant to continue on with a subject change. There is nothing left to discuss on the other matter. If the man does ever show, Joshua will just kill him again, and again, and again.

So these are his thoughts as he surveys the coats, reaching up to shuffle through a few of the longer ones. Even if it would cover up her figure, keeping her from freezing is a little more important.

He finds an eggshell white coat that follows the same design as the soldier style, a higher stiff collar with folded cuffs at the wrist and frosted gold-brushed buttons running down the front. ]

This is sharp.

[heloise]

[ And break every bone in his body, she hopes.

Her smile comes back fast enough, even with a small giggle as she fiddles with the buttons. ]

Sharp enough for what, Joshua?

[ofhope]

For public.

[ At least he thinks it looks good. Again, he's no fashionista, and he's trying to distract her more than anything. ]

It just means it looks good. Classy.

[heloise]

I can settle for classy.

[ Well then, she holds out her arms so he can help her into it because why would anyone put their clothes on by themselves? ]

[ofhope]

[ Fortunately that's an expected, gentlemanly thing to do anyway, so he makes no fuss at helping her into the coat, only buttoning the top two buttons so that they can get an idea of how it looks before walking out with it. ]

Do you even own any clothes that aren't?

[heloise]

[ She chuckles, looking about for a mirror before deciding to just step back and show him instead. ]

Jeans and blouses and sneakers can be classy too, surely.

[ofhope]

[ Joshua has never wore jeans in his life, so he really can't say a thing about them other than they're blue. He appraises her white coat from the front, before walking around to see the back. Of course he prefers her without it, he has two eyes doesn't he? But for a coat it's nice. ]

I think this is a few levels above, as you should be. People will definitely stare.