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[fleurdefrance]

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[fleurdefrance]

"Mm, I'm sorry. I can only hear of your... Flirtatious ways so many times. It's astonishing how there are still maids left in the castle that you haven't devoured yet."

"I would protest, but since that was actually very close to the ending I would’ve told you, hadn’t you seemed completely uninterested, I don’t have a leg to stand on."

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"Please Kilian, the ending of your stories are almost second nature by now," Fleur snickered, "the chambermaid and you end up in a bed together."

"Would you be kind enough to at least pretend like you are interested?" Kilian asked with a sigh. His eyebrows raised, he faced the other. He didn’t like having to stop in the middle of a story.

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Fleur laughed at the man opposite of her. She admitted to herself that his charisma piqued her interest. No noble was ever so bold in his or her speech, except for Fleur herself, of course. She considered his idea before humorously replying, "what princess would I be if not a one who keeps secrets?"

Fleur continued to think of what the other had said. His chattiness held many different subjects and ideas. "If you insist on me prying," she started, "what is your reason for your 'odd, night-time ways'?"

Alexander waggled a finger. “No, no. Exploring it may well be—I will buy it, I buy all sorts of trinkets because they amuse me—but that is not the way to go about accustoming others to your odd, night-time ways. You must be absolutely open, admit every detail. Otherwise there are questions—inconvenient questions!” 

He shrugged, broadly gesturing. He clucked, as if demonstrating a theorem well known to the world, and sidled slowly forward. “But when you are known to answer every question put to you, your peers often forget to do the questioning. Try it out on me: I invite you, in fact, to do so.” 

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Fleur smiled, proud of herself. It was difficult to receive positive enforcement for her sovereignty, so hearing a compliment always put a smile on her face. "If you ever need too be accompanied, you can rely on me," she suggested. Therese seemed to have a kind soul, and Fleur wanted to help her fellow noble express her kindness without being corrupted by dependence, or without being taken advantage of. "If you cannot be fully independent, I suppose having myself along would aid you?" Fleur finally posed.

"You are a wonder, Eure Durchlaucht, truly. I can not begin to comprehend that. Not that it is a bad thing, in fact I am quite envious of your independence. I still to this day have a tremendous amount of trouble even walking on my own without some company. I know it is foolish, but I admire your independence, no matter how perplexing it may be to me in a way." she confessed, offering Fleur a warm smile. 

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"I believe you are in mine so if you would..." Fleur replied, gesturing for the man to move.

❝ — Excuse me?❞ He asked, a brow raising, ❝I do not believe I’m in anyone’s way.❞

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Fleur could not help but raise her eyebrows, stunned but intrigued at the sudden change of physical behavior. "Ah, so the stranger emerges... And gives me his name. Lord Coulter, was it?" she inquired playfully. She could not see much in the concealed light except for the obvious corner of castle wall, but Fleur could observe the man being slightly taller than her, with a head of hair lighter than candlelight.

"Skulking is too harsh a word... I prefer exploring," she jested, starting to smirk, "and what I am exploring is none of your business."

"Shadows!" Alexander declared, giving up all pretense of stealth. He scratched his temple, making a show of glancing sideways from here to there. "I will be known for my shadows, soon—I can’t stop halfway, now. When everyone knows Lord Coulter goes from one dim nook to another, none of the precious nobility will be surprised in the slightest by it, and I will bother no one."

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Now—what sort of skulking reputation are you trying to cultivate, I wonder? Hm?”

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lady-thereseweiss:

At the words that had tumbled past the other brunettes lips, Therese let out a small laugh, her head dipping slightly as she tried to wrap her head around what exactly she meant. “That is not very helpful, My Lady.” she told her, Therese’ laugh starting to die down slightly. “I suppose that it has to come with your personality, rather than it being something that you learn.” 

"Truth be told, I cannot find the words to explain. Independence comes so simply to me..." Fleur huffed, crossed at her inability to find a definition of _how. _She knew her self-rule had not been influenced from her maternal side, but her paternal side was completely patriarchal, so that couldn't have influenced Fleur either. The noble thought to herself for a moment before continuing, "I believe that possibly, growing up in a male entitled environment caused me to bloom gathering the opposite. "

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Fleur was roaming the palace walls after dark per usual. Since her voyage, her ability to sleep had been stunted, so she spent her time awake exploring the castle. As the French princess turned the familiar corner to the throne room, she noticed a shadow in her peripheral running along the wall behind her. Fleur chuckled to herself and the shadow stopped dead, taking note of Fleur. "Running in the shadows is not a very good reputation to have in a castle full of precious nobility," she joked quietly.

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Fleur thought about the question. Although she had claimed her independence, Fleur had never really thought about the how aspect. It was her second nature to be responsible for herself, and she could not imagine having it any other way. Fleur had never let herself be forced into any decision or situation she did not agree with, but how she came to let herself do that... Well, Fleur had never questioned it before. It had always been that way. Her sovereignty obviously had its repercussions, and because of her rebellious behavior against the typical customs, in France she had been known as "une princesse rebelle." Fleur's mind came back to her and all she could do to answer the other brunette was sigh, "you just... Do."

Therese squared her shoulders and gazed hard at the young woman. She’d never met a young woman as… free so to speak, as this one; and it simultaneously astounded and infuriated her. Part of Tess wanted to be free, and to live a humble life, and to stay away from court, but then another part of her knew her duty and was bound to it by honour, so to meet someone so sure of themselves at such a young age, it was different and intriguing. “How exactly does one go about claiming it then?” she questioned, curious as to what kind of answer she would get back. 

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"It is not a struggle if you've already claimed it," smirked Fleur. The Princess was 19, and long due for a matched suitor, but Fleur had never accepted one. Her parents showered her with a variety of noble options, and many men had tried to court her, but what just would it be if Fleur had no choice? She would rather die before letting the future of her kingdom, and her own future, be ruled by a man not chosen by Fleur herself. Of course one of her aspirations was to find love, as any princess' aspirations would be, but the man that would capture Fleur's heart would be of her choosing and her choosing only. A man who treats Fleur as fairly as she treats herself.>

Therese had been partially raised by a governess that her mother had once known, the woman had lived most of her life humbly in a small house in the country near their estate, and only came into money after Therese’ mother had passed away, and she’d been instated as the young childs care giver. Therese didn’t quite know how her mother had come upon being friends with the older woman, but in retrospect she didn’t mind. The older woman had taught her from a very young age that as a human, she was at the lords good mercy, and that each of her actions had a reaction from the Lord, and if good things happened to you, then He was happy, and if bad things happened, then He was upset. She knew that compared to others her religious upbringing could be compared to that of being raised in a nunnery, but it wasn’t something Therese could change, nor would she. That being said however, it still perplexed her at times that people could be so nonchalant about God and religion. Biting her tongue from what she really wanted to say, she raised her hazel orbs to the young womans brown ones, her lips in a tight line. “You and I have very different values when it comes to religion, so I will not bother you about it any longer. I do understand your need and struggle for independence though, we as a sex hardly get any…” she stated quietly, her hands clenched behind her back.

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Fleur was raised in a religious household where God was the almighty and where your fate was sealed. No discussions otherwise, at least on the maternal side. The French princess had resented this idea since she was a child, and detested the thought of not being able to choose her own path. Fleur had always been more... Avant-garde than other nobles she knew. More than any servant or peasant, too. "I am no heretic," she said lightly, knowing how her unusual beliefs struck cords with others, "but independence is very important to me."

She glanced at the taller woman as she started to walk down the corridor, pursing her lips momentarily before deciding to follow behind. Clasping her hands behind her back, she listened to her speak, her brows furrowed. “What you are saying… It sounds… Well it sounds slightly ludicrous. Do you not believe that God has a set up plan for us, and we are up to his mercy? Or are you a heretic?” 

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Fleur started to walk ahead, expecting the seemingly hesitant woman to follow. "You may be so bold to ask. Every person is responsible for his or her fate, I believe," Fleur proudly spoke her unconventional opinion. "Of course we have God to help, but our fate is our own to pursue," she continued.

The boisterous laugh that came out of the other woman caught Therese off guard and she flinched slightly, the actions of the taller woman causing her to question what exactly she was up to. “Why do you not think that Lady Luck is real? If I may be so bold as to ask.” 

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Fleur laughed, surprised at how seriously the other woman had taken her comment. "Please, don't take my remark to heart too much," Fleur said, her laughter fading, "unlike the rest of the continent, I am not very supersitious. Lady Luck is only a myth to me."

Therese cocked a brow at the statement that the young brunette had posed towards her, the substance of her words making her suddenly self conscious some how. “Are you insinuating that I am perpetuating my own accidents, because I can assure that you I am not avidly trying to do any such thing” she replied, her eyes raking up the other womans form as she spoke. 

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"Or maybe Lady Luck has nothing to do with it and your own fear is the culprit of your clumsiness?" Fleur retorted, smirking at her fellow royal.

"I’m beginning to think that lady luck has some sort of vendetta against me, for that’s the third time I’ve fallen today, and I fear that number is only going to grow." Therese said with a small sigh, as her hands slid across the smooth fabric of her dress.