queencfharts

[queencfharts]

lorelai rolled her eyes as he winked, placating her otherwise embarrassing outburst. not that lorelai hart felt such trivial things, thank you very much. truthfully though, she was rather looking forward to spending the day with him at this wedding. it might even be fun. and even if it wasn't, there would be wine and stimulating conversation. a guaranteed non-waste of time.

"yes, thank you," she said, already on her feet as she smoothed out her red dress. she collected her jacket and handbag before making her way over to him, taking a moment. lorelai didn't care what her office might think of them walking to the elevator together, but she was allowed to have pause. to make sure. "are you ready to head out?"

attending the wedding together felt like a good idea from them both. they didn't have to stand around looking awkward and they had someone to talk to when the crowds were moving. lorelai had dropped him a message that she had been called into a meeting and being the french gentleman than he was, he went over to her office to meet her. waltzing into the office, he gave a nod to the front desk, ignored the fossils looking at him and found her muttering to herself at her desk.

alfredo leaned against the door, enjoying the moment before he checked his watch and they had to get a move on "yes dear, you're very kissable" he winked paired with a million dollar smile "are you ready to head out?"

[queencfharts]

Lorelai found weddings frivolous affairs. At least, that's what she'd often say when she RSVP'd no over the years. In truth, they were far too nostalgic and entirely too lovely for her taste. Whether she'd run out of excuses or it simply felt like the right time, she had said yes to this one. It would be nice, she was sure, to see James and Tina on their special day.

Her stiletto heels clipped against the ground as she made her way over to James, careful to avoid any other small talk. She smiled politely back when he thanked her. "You're very welcome, thank you for inviting me." She clasped her hands, looking briefly around them before meeting his eye again. "Everything looks beautiful. You must be excited?"

thank you | open starter

James stood at the edge of the ceremony space, heart ticking steadily beneath his chest as he waited for the moment he would walk down the aisle. Each breath felt deliberate, like his body knew this was no ordinary day—this was the day everything changed. The sky above was a soft, forgiving blue, the kind that seemed to bless the day in its own quiet way. The chairs were filling with guests, all faces he recognized from different corners of his life—friends, mentors, people who had become a kind of chosen family.

His fingers brushed over the edge of his sleeve as he adjusted his cufflinks, more out of habit than necessity. There was still time. The music hadn’t started yet, the soft hum of conversation still drifting like smoke across the air. Somewhere behind the scenes, she was getting ready—his bride. The thought alone filled him with a warmth that settled low in his chest and spread outward. she had visited him prior, the nervous mess that she was, they couldn't be gone without the other soon, which filled James with a joy he couldn't put into words.

Even with his heart beating a little faster, James found the grace to step toward a few guests who had arrived early and stood near the back. He didn’t want to seem too closed off, even though every part of him was tuned into the anticipation of seeing her.

“Thank you for coming,” he said with a gentle nod, offering a small smile. His voice was soft, but grounded, carrying a quiet sincerity that spoke more than just the words.

@happieststarters

[queencfharts]

happiesttask14 >>>>> formative influences

emily (the devil wears prada)

fairy godmother (shrek 2)

zelda spellman (caos)

victoria davis (one tree hill)

miranda priestley (the devil wears prada)

jessica pearson (suits)

olivia pope (scandal)

elijah mikaelson (the originals)

[queencfharts]

Lorelai was livid. No- No, actually she wasn't. She was unbothered! She was completely unphased by the two and half hour meeting she'd been pulled into, hosted by her least favourite people. A room full of overconfident, utterly useless, crispy old men. Ugh! She was fine! "I don't have it anymore. I don't have it anymore," she muttered to herself, shifting in her seat. As if. She still had it. She was hot. She was bloody brilliant! She was kissable.

"I'm kissable. I'm--," she looked up from her desk then. Shit, who'd let him in? "Alfredo. Hello." @alfredogusteausor

[queencfharts]

perhaps this wasn't such a good idea... and yet, here she was still standing. lorelai couldn't help it. she had to know. her own head would still pound, her hands still shake. her dreams plagued by feelings that weren't hers. her heels clacked against the floor as she entered the room.

"here-," she started, pouring a plastic cup of water from his bedside table and handing it over. "that'll get better, eventually. trust me." lorelai had more or less managed to keep her own incident under lock and key.

"henrik, do you--- do you remember anything, well... strange?"

by the time he came round long enough to form a coherent thought, henrik's brain went haywire. he couldn't figure out where he was or what had happened. why wasn't he in his house?

turning his head to the doorway, he saw lorelai standing. "t-thirty two?" he coughed. what did she mean day thirty-two? had he been here that long? that can't be right.

"my head feels like it's been hit with a brick"

[queencfharts]

lorelai hart had been hiding away for months now. once she'd gotten over the hurdle of stepping outside of her home, which she'd made into her golden cage, she couldn't stay still. so she traveled, she made everything a 'business trip'. she left her assistant to fend for themself. she still didn't feel better. she didn't feel right.

which is how we landed here, at this bar, back in this town. she turned just enough to raise a brow at him, glass in hand- "surely, it can't be that bad?"

not having babette by his side was slowly driving him insane. the break had been mutually agreed but the more time went on the more victor was questioning why they took one. things hadn't been good, they'd been viciously arguing but now he missed that. he had seen some guy talking to her throughout the night and the jealously was rearing its ugly head.

trying to take his mind off of it, he turned to the bar and ordered another beer.

@happieststarters

[queencfharts]

"oh, you know... i actually refuse to use the word 'sick' but i could certainly be better. hence, the fresh air-," she added, gesturing around them. "lovely to see you, my dear! i can imagine, you must be itching to stretch your legs." lorelai held her arm out to her- "come, you can tell me all about your first days of 'double trouble'-hood."

persephone got up from her chair and gave lorelai a wave. she quickly pressed a kiss to hayden and left him watching the children while she grabbed her coat and headed outside to meet her friend.

“hi! how are you? it’s good to see you, i feel like i was on bed rest for eternity”

[queencfharts]

lorelai wasn't sure what had brought her to the hospital. well, that wasn't true. she did know, she just hadn't expected that today, of all days, would be the one henrik opened his eyes again. it was one of the first times she might have been spotted since her own unfortunate circumstances (which had been more or less kept under wraps). she'd long since awoken, opting to stay hidden away at home, allowing her lackeys to spread rumours of her being away on business. whatever had happened to her... it had not gone gently.

so, yes, here we are. selfish reasons, really. after all, she wasn't very good at offering comfort. never had been. it was a relief of course, to see that he'd come to no harm (at least, as far as they'd write on a chart). no doubt persephone would be along soon enough with her warmth and kindness.

until then, she stood in the doorway of his room while he readjusted. it was then she cleared her throat, of all things. "day thirty-two, i believe," she answered- "how's your head?"

not much was remembered by henrik. the last thing he remembered was going about his usual day and coming down with some flu. the flu was the worst one he'd ever had, so much so he spent days holed up in his house and tried to fight it off. that was it. that was the last thing he really remembered from the whole thing.

odd dreams and high fevers were intertwined in his brain. the came in waves, they came in tsunamis.

his body ached and his skin screamed in agony. his eyes burning when they took in light for the first time in thirty-two days. while the nurses did their jobs tending to him, doctors came in to give henrik a check over and gave henrik some sunglasses to wear to allow his eyes time to adjust to the harsh hospital lighting. his head felt fuzzy, nothing quite clicked together the way it should. something felt off. then the news came. he was poisoned, and he was poisoned in an aggressive manner. had henrik kept up whatever was poisoning him he very likely wouldn't have been in the bed waking up, it was a stroke of luck that he had apparently passed out before taking whatever it was that was there to wipe him out.

"wh-what day is it?"

[queencfharts]

#me trying to keep my cool

[queencfharts]

I’m curious, Mitzi. What do you get out of this?

[queencfharts]

♛ falling down the rabbit hole ♛

Synopsis: Lorelai Hart has been fine, thank you. In fact, she feels right as rain! If you don't count the headaches, the nightmares, the threatened fainting spells (into Helen's strong arms)... One night, in her office, while Lilo Pelekai lives her last night on earth, Lorelai is- in fact- not fine.

cw; poisoning, fainting/coma

@xalicethewonderx

Lorelai sat behind her desk, late into the night, with the lights dimmed as low as they possibly could be. No matter her efforts, the pounding in her head had not subsided. She had tried working through it, she had tried hiding at home. She had tried pretending everything was hunky-fucking-dory!

The truth was uglier than she'd care to admit. In fact, the truth was beyond comprehension.

This wasn't just a passing cold or a festive flu. No, something was wrong with Lorelai Hart. All her life, she'd been victim to her temper. She rarely held back her passionate opinions, her red hot outbursts but this was different. The unexplained and unwanted rage that boiled in her veins now was different.

Everything felt as if it were building up to something terrible.

And then she thought of Alice. Dear, darling, Alice who she loved and cherished. Dear, darling, Alice... In her mind, the image of Alice made her fists ball.

Alice.

The pain in her head was sharp and sudden, and before Lorelai knew what she was doing, her desk was turned up on its side. The light bulb in her antique lamp had smashed, her laptop lay splayed on the carpet. Her long cold cup of tea was running across the floor as if it were blood. Her breathing was ragged while the whole room seemed to spin.

If anyone was still in the office (were they?), they hadn't appeared. What time was it? Long after anyone else should be working. Lorelai tried to move but her legs weren't working quite the way she'd like. She leaned against the wall for support. She longed to let out a scream (did she?).

Lorelai's forehead pressed against the wall-- the thought that she might call someone for help arrived and promptly left. No one could see her like this! See her. With another ragged breath, she pulled back from the wall long enough to catch her own eye in the mirror on the wall. Beautiful, carefully selected- like most items in the office.

She stared and stared, and stared into her own eyes until she didn't look real. She didn't feel real.

Why didn't she feel real?

Lorelai slammed her palm against the glass. And then she slammed her fist against it. It was as if the rage wanted to break free of her body. It was too big, it was too much. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she thought that she should be feeling more. (Was there blood on the glass?).

Sweat beaded on her forehead, her ears were ringing and there was a distinct dread in the pit of her stomach.

Then, she thought of Alice again. And blood red tarts.

And everything went dark...

[queencfharts]

[queencfharts]

did lorelai feel as if she was about to keel over? certainly. but was that about to stop her from making her scheduled appointment (sorry, ‘meet up’) with persephone go amiss? never. she’d come armed with some things for the children, of course. lorelai didn’t particular see the appeal-- babies brought very little to the workplace-- but she was happy for them. 

“persephone-- hello, hi! do you fancy meeting outside? fresh air and all.” @itspersephxne​

[queencfharts]

lorelai was almost instantly overwhelmed by her kindness. it was deeply unsettling, of course but perhaps...nice. not even her own parents had gone so out of the way to take care of her when she'd been ill as a child. of course that didn't matter-- what a foolish thought. "well, thank you for saying so."

she ushered helen in, fighting off a smile and trying to ignore the pounding in her head. "better now that you're here," she replied, then with a small smile-- "with the wine." it was hard to hide how terrible she felt when helen was here, in her home. there was really nowhere to hide. she didn't like the feeling. "i haven't been sick in years, helen. i don't get sick, i don't do sick. i'm utterly horrified! there's no doubt the firm is on fire by now without me. i feel---," she paused before letting out a laugh. "i feel like utter shit, helen."

on her way to the hart home, she popped into a nearby store and picked up all the cold and flu things one could desire when ill - along with another curer of wine, chocolate and some of those trashy tabloid magazines that she knew would make the other laugh. 

helen gave a sympathetic look when lorelai had opened her door “you’re excused. you’re always excused.” she said with a wave of her hand “only you could be floored with a flu and still look amazing, and also, i’ve brought you cold and flu reinforcements.” she offered “dumb question, but how are you feeling?”

[queencfharts]

xalicethewonderx​.

Alice felt terrible. Alice felt terrible and couldn’t tell precisely why they felt terrible. Was it anxiety? If it was, was it the usual anxiety? Or anxiety that they had maybe, possibly, very definitely poisoned Lorelai Hart? Or were they just ill? Or had Lorelai not really been poisoned, but actually been sick, and contagious, and now Alice had it too? Did any of that explain the headaches and the nightmares, and the horrible waking dreams? Flashes of memories of the Other Alice? Alice - Normal Alice - was so sure that they were done remembering things about the Other Alice! (Two-and-two had not yet been put together, but four was certainly on the horizon.)

Alice had been asleep all day, on account of having been awake all night.

But, you know, when you think everyone in your house is gone and you hear a clinking coming from the kitchen, you wake up, and you have to investigate, clutching your stuffed mushroom, abandoning all sense of self preservation and ignoring all headaches.

Alice wasn’t exactly ecstatic to see Lorelai Hart standing there in the kitchen, and was left frozen in the doorway at the sight of her.

First of all, there was panic. Second, overwhelming relief that Lorelai had not died from the tarts. Third… Alice wasn’t sure, but there was a scratching in their brain, as if Other Alice was trying to tell them something.

“You look sick…” Alice said, instead of answering Lorelai’s question or giving any sort of greeting to begin with.

༶•┈┈⛧┈♛

For a moment too long, Lorelai found herself staring at the stuffed mushroom. There was something about it... Or perhaps her restless nights were catching up with her. Her head was pounding already, focusing was proving more and more difficult. When Alice spoke, she finally looked back up and met their eye.

Lorelai’s cheeks suddenly heated as she did, flushing red. She hadn’t noticed that her hands had balled into fists until her red painted nails pressed too harshly into her palm. She wasn’t upset with Alice. So why did she feel suddenly on edge? Why did she have to fight the urge to snap back at them about their manners, about answering the question they were asked. About it being none of their business whether or not Lorelai was sick. Which she wasn’t!

The thoughts were irrational. The feeling was irrational. 

Something was wrong with her. “I feel fine,” she replied, more hoarsely than she’d originally planned. She focused on the glass of water she had just poured, reaching to take a long sip, ignoring the way her hands trembled so slightly.

“Perhaps a little... I’ve been very busy, Alice. Sometimes there’s no rest for the---,” she let the saying die on her tongue. 

She dared to meet Alice’s eye again, her expression briefly softening despite the tension in her body. “Are you feeling well, dear?”

[queencfharts]

chelsea-katz​.

Chelsea threw her head back and burst out laughing at the accusation. She knew it was a godawful impersonation. That was the whole point. “Sue me, Lory, if you so please. But a journalist’s pay is meager, my apartment is basically worthless, and the furniture’s not trendy at all. And I’d truly hate having to part with my sunglasses collection. Would you repossess that, too?” she asked, carelessly spinning in the chair. “I got a new pair last week to replace some old ones. Heart-shaped frames, pink-tinted, gold-rimmed: they’d suit you just beautifully.”

She chuckled a little more, raising her eyebrows in pretend surprise, when Lorelai rejected her offer to a makeshift philosophy conference. “Oh, that’s quite alright. There’ll always be another chance for you to enjoy my latest theories, don’t worry your pretty golden head about it.” She only lost her smile when she yelled about her time being wasted. Mind you, Chelsea didn’t really get in between how the lawyer dealt with her employees, but she wasn’t game for participating in a chewing-out session when she was in this foul of a mood. She liked pretty much everyone at the law firm, even if they didn’t particularly like her back. She could be patient, and provide the proverbial ear to her friend’s woes, but that was the extent of it unless some actual harm had been made. Or unless she was particularly blitzed, of course.

Then Lorelai sighed, and brought out the whiskey, and so Chelsea got her smile back. “Well, you can tell me all about it over some teacup refills,” she suggested, reaching out her now empty cup.

༶•┈┈⛧┈♛  

Lorelai let out a laugh that was only a little mean which meant her mood truly was improving. She felt completely untethered lately. She felt as if she was losing control which only made her angrier. But she’d never snapped at Chelsea like that before, truly unprovoked. They bit, they bantered. Lorelai didn’t spill good tea over their spats. If she weren’t so concerned with her reputation, she might even have felt bad about it. Apologised (a ghastly thought). Instead, she shook her head and indulged her. “I’d have your entire sunglasses collection. I’d have everything down to the dust on your counters and don’t you forget it, Katz. Flatter won’t get you out of it either-,” she paused, almost smiling- “Well, unless you’ll planning to officially print just how beautifully I’d suit them.”

She sighed, already refilling their tea cups with something more satisfactory. “I shall wait with baited breath for the day then.” Lorelai had finished her cup in a few gulps. How horrified her father would be to see such an expensive whiskey guzzled like that. She was hardly looking to have some sort of therapy session with Chelsea. But she also knew that what was said in this office, between them and this decanter, would stay there. For the most part. After all, she was still a damned journalist.

“It’s Alice,” she said, staring into her cup before clearing her throat. “Ever since Alice came back... I don’t know. It’s as if I’m the devil incarnate! They hardly say a word to me anymore and I- I think I scared them. That first night in the hospital when they were found. Alice... Alice screamed for me to leave them alone. And we still don’t know what happened. I hate that. I hate it, Katz. Every stone has been unturned and we’re still none the wiser-- it boils my blood.” Sometimes it felt that way quite literally too.

[queencfharts]

xalicethewonderx​.

Alice’s heart just about stopped at the suggestion to share. The indication that this was, in fact, a joke, made them so uneasy that the colour began to drain from their cheeks entirely. Alice forced a semblance of a laugh and hoped it was enough.

Alice stuffed their guilty hands back in their pockets, now searching for an out. They had done what was asked. Was that enough? Did they have to wait? They simply could not! Not when the knot in their stomach grew so large they would be throwing up for the rest of the evening in the town hall bathrooms.

They nodded, too quickly.

“Yes. Yes, I– I’ll go. Find my friends…” Alice gave Lorelai one last look, with a wish to say sorry that they weren’t sure would ever be vocalised. “Goodbye!”

And like that, Alice ducked their way into the crowd as fast as their wobbling legs could take them.

༶•┈┈⛧┈♛

Should Lorelai have thought more of their interaction that night? Alice was acting no stranger than usual, weren’t they? No more skittish than was expected. Nothing was out of the ordinary. In fact, it was a step in the right direction for them. This was a good sign for them. Their relationship was on the mend, wasn’t it? These tarts were the proof of just that.

Lorelai watched with a touch of concern as Alice seemed to grow more restless. Then they were nodding, agreeing, which was good-- wasn’t it? Lorelai opened then promptly closed her mouth again, unable to get a word in before Alice was there and gone again.

She watched them disappear into the crowd, their chest giving an uncomfortable squeeze at the notion. Alice, out of sight. Lorelai hadn’t noticed that she’d pressed her palm to her chest as she thought about losing them again. She tried to shake it off.

“Goodbye, Alice,” she whispered even though they were long gone. Only Lorelai and the tarts remained.