#margarite de france

[acrosscenturiesandgenerations]

▪︎ Plaque of Marguerite de France as Minerva.

Artist: Jean de Court (died before 1583)

Place of origin: Limoges, France

Date: 1555

Medium: Enamel, flesh tones, black, silver-coloured and red details, foil, gold and copper, enamelled and gilded, with enlevage.

[thethirdromana]

The many, many references of chapter XI of Dorian Gray

This chapter can come across as a bit of a long, boring list of stuff. That's partly because it is a long, boring list of stuff, as we see how shallow Dorian's life of collecting trinkets and misdeeds is, compared with his lofty ambitions to be some kind of thought-leader of his age.

But it's Wilde, so a lot of this chapter has references and connotations that might not be obvious.

the sordid room of the little ill-famed tavern near the docks OK, this isn't particularly subtle given Wilde already tells us it's sordid and ill-famed. But it's probably not just a dodgy pub. Being near the docks implies that Dorian is hanging out with people in the lower classes, almost certainly including sex workers. I think there might also be a nudge-nudge wink-wink implication of homosexuality here - docks mean sailors, and the navy already had a reputation for homosexuality in Wilde's time.

Like Gautier, he was one for whom “the visible world existed.” Théophile Gautier, a French writer, critic and defender of Romanticism. He was flamboyant, unconventional and had lots of affairs.

he might really become to the London of his own day what to imperial Neronian Rome the author of the Satyricon once had been The author of the Satyricon is Petronius, a Roman courtier in the reign of Nero. He was dedicated to a life of pleasure and indulgence, and was an authority on questions of fashion and taste.

the materialistic doctrines of the Darwinismus movement in Germany Darwinismus means proto-eugenics, essentially. You know, in case you needed any more reasons to dislike Dorian.

the one that Bernal Diaz saw when he went with Cortes into the Mexican temple, and of whose doleful sound he has left us so vivid a description "They had an exceedingly large drum there, and when they beat it the sound of it was so dismal and like, so to say, an instrument of the infernal regions, that one could hear it a distance of two leagues, and they said that the skins it was covered with were of those great snakes." Wouldn't say it was that vivid a description, to be honest.

appeared at a costume ball as Anne de Joyeuse, Admiral of France, in a dress covered with five hundred and sixty pearls Despite how this sounds, Anne de Joyeuse was a man, and Dorian didn't go to the ball in drag. Anne de Joyeuse was probably one of Henry III's lovers. (This is the start of a theme developing).

Alexander, the Conqueror of Emathia This is Alexander the Great. (The theme continues).

Lodge’s strange romance ‘A Margarite of America’ A 16th century romance about the love affair between a Peruvian prince and a Russian princess. With a lot of gory bits.

the Duke de Valentinois, son of Alexander VI Otherwise known as Cesare Borgia, who inspired Machiavelli to write The Prince. There are all sorts of rumours about Cesare Borgia, ranging from having lots of mistresses (true) to gay relationships and incest with his sister (probably not true).

Charles of England had ridden in stirrups hung with four hundred and twenty-one diamonds This is presumably Charles I rather than Charles II (who was also Charles of England). Historic Royal Palaces - the people who run the Tower of London, among others - have him on their list of LGBT+ monarchs. They highlight this painting, where he's gazing at George Villiers, who also shagged his dad:

Richard II had a coat, valued at thirty thousand marks, which was covered with balas rubies Richard II, who was rumoured to have had an affair with Richard de Vere, Earl of Oxford.

Henry VIII Who only had relationships with women, as far as history is aware.

The favourites of James I wore ear-rings of emeralds set in gold filigrane Back on the theme again. James I was Charles I's dad, who had a secret passage built between his bedchamber and that of his favourite, George Villiers - the one in the picture up there ^. While most of the people on this list were only rumoured to have had gay relationships, no one really disputes it for James I.

Edward II gave to Piers Gaveston a suit of red-gold armour That would be his lover, Piers Gaveston.

Henry II. wore jewelled gloves reaching to the elbow Henry II, who was known to have shared a bed with William Marshal, the Earl of Pembroke. Which doesn't necessarily mean anything, but... you know. There's a theme.

Charles the Rash, the last Duke of Burgundy of his race At this point I can't tell if Wilde is deliberately throwing in some misdirection, like the mention of Henry VIII, or if my Google-powers have failed me.

the mortuary cloth of King Chilperic Oh hang on a tick. King Chilperic was a 6th century monarch who is known, among other things, for having strangled his wife. Just as Henry VIII had two of his wives executed. So the theme here is either queer relationships - or murdered women.

(We then of course get a series of notable historical figures who, so far as I can tell, don't have any connections to either of these things. Also this bit goes on for ages and this post is already very long, so I'm going to skip past them).

dreadful places near Blue Gate Fields A slum area just north of the docks in East London. Known for opium dens, brothels and murders. Some people have suggested this is an allusion to Jack the Ripper, even a suggestion that Oscar Wilde knew who Jack the Ripper was, which I'm reasonably confident is nonsense.

brawling with foreign sailors in a low den in the distant parts of Whitechapel So what I'm finding quite funny here is that all the dodgy and dissolute places that Wilde has Dorian go are literally just the same place.

Near the docks = East London, probably in the area of Whitechapel Blue Gate Fields = Whitechapel the distant parts of Whitechapel = that would be Whitechapel, then?

The very odd Jack the Ripper website I just read interprets Wilde's descriptions as meaning that he had some kind of hidden knowledge of London's underworld... just as the Ripper would have!! But to me this reads a lot more like Wilde was aware of one (1) suitably shady-sounding location and ran with it.

Here was Philip Herbert That would be James I's lover, Philip Herbert. (What, you thought we were done with these?)

Sir Anthony Sherard Is fictional, but...

the lover of Giovanna of Naples Giovanna of Naples was a real person, who probably murdered her husband. (Nice to get some variety among the murdered spouses).

Lady Elizabeth Devereux A Tudor noblewoman, known for a quite public affair.

George Willoughby... had been a macaroni of the eighteenth century, and the friend, in his youth, of Lord Ferrars I can't find much on George Willoughby, but Lord Ferrers shot his steward, and is known as the last peer to have been hanged in England.

the second Lord Beckenham... he had led the orgies at Carlton House Lord Beckenham is (I think) fictional; George IV, who held wild and extravagant parties at Carlton House, is not.

Tiberius, in a garden at Capri Googling this brings up articles titled things like "The Scandalous Private Life of Tiberius Caesar". That makes it sound like the fun activities of consenting adults, but that's grossly misleading. The people involved were rumoured to be often neither consenting nor adults.

reading the shameful books of Elephantis Elephantis was a Greek poet and physician who wrote a sex manual.

Caligula... Domitian... Elagabalus Caligula was known for sex and murder. Domitian was known for censorship and control of public morals. Elagabalus was known for sexual promiscuity with men and women.

And that's the lot! For the last few paragraphs of the chapter, Wilde actually spells out the various misdeeds of the people he discusses (sex and murder, unsurprisingly), thus sparing me from Googling them.

Congratulations if you made it this far.

[valorianknights]

Here me out. Ever After: A Cinderella story... But Huntlow.

There. That's it.

But wait. There's more!

There's also Lumity and Raeda!

And of course some good ol' Odalia bashing. Because she's the worst.

Here's the cast:

The Brother's Grimm: The Collector

Grande Dame: ( Any Huntlow great grandchild oc)

Auguste de Barbarac: Gilbert Park

Nicole de Lancret: Harvey Park

Danielle de Barbarac: Willow Park

Gustave: Augustus Porter

Baroness Rodmilla: Odalia Blight

Margarite: Boscha

Jacqueline: Amity Blight

King Francis: Caleb Wittebane

Queen Marie: Katherine Cromwell ( It's Evelyn, but in this au she sneaks into the kingdom to get better insight on what's happening in the kingdom. Caleb comes along sometimes ☺️ Also this was my headcannon name for her before name reveal in season 3)

Prince Henry: Hunter Wittebane

Captain Laurent: Luz Noceda

Royal Page: Kikimora

Paulette: Lilith Clawthorn

Louise: Raine Whispers

Maurice: Eda Clawthorn

Leonardo Da Vinci: Mason Stonewall ( Head of Construction coven) or Alador Blight

King and Queen of Spain: Manny and Camila Noceda

Princess Gabriella: Vee Noceda

Gabriella's Love: Masha (did I forget to mention that Veesha was in this? Oops, hehe)

For those wondering about why Luz isn't the princess... she is.

In my au she and vee were switched at birth accidentally and Luz went with the wrong family who happened to be only visiting Spain and they were returning to France after the wife went into labor. I mean after recovering from giving birth of course. They were nice people, had good standing with the royal family, but unfortunately passed away. The mother passed from unknown illness and the father in a fight to stop a criminal outside of the kingdom.

Caleb and Katherine both decided that Luz would live in the castle with them. They wouldn't want a 10 year old to be out in the world on their own.

So it was decided that Luz would be raised alongside Hunter and they both trained in swordsmanship, archery and combat. Eventually, Luz would not only become the youngest captain of the guard at 18, but also the prince's most trusted companion ( only 2nd to Flapjack).

Though to Hunter, Luz was basically his annoying little sister.

When the plot kicks off the hexsquad is aged up to 18, Hunter is 19 and Gus is 16.

[liscttc]

“I’ve always loved the female form. There’s something about it that just begs me to grab a pencil and draw for it. Men’s Fashion was so foreign to me. But I’m really happy about this collection” 

- Lisette about the new Men’s line in her fashion label, pâquerette 

20.06.2021

Like this post to plot pls✌️

&&. is that ( danielle galligan )?? no, it’s just ( lisette margarite d’orleans ). she is the ( princess ) of ( france ). she is ( 31 ) years old and her birthday is the ( 21th ) of ( november ) which makes her a ( scorpio ).  she is ( charming & affable ) and ( decadent & loyal ) but, unfortunately, also ( self-righteous & cynical ). those traits just make her a ( hufflepuff ) and in scientific terms an ( esfj-t ). she is a ( closeted lesbian ) and the plaza’s ( phoenix ).  her theme song is ( south ) by ( sleeping at last ). her interests include ( fashion & photography ). she is a ( roman catholic ) and a supporter of ( alliance royale ). her quirk is ( she bites her knuckles while she’s thinking ) and favourite quote is ( “prouver que j’ai raison serait accorder que je puis avoir tort.” ) which translated means ( “proving that I am right would be admitting that I could be wrong.” ) by ( pierre de beaumarchais ) because ( it’s the #frenchway ). last but not least she ( doesn’t ) believe in true love.

BASICS:

François younger sister

Arnauld’s, Giselle‘s & Henri’s Cousin

Mimi’s cousin

Stella’s ex girlfriend (Rip)

TLDR: Spanish Lis and French Lis combined to create a Lis who doesn’t give 2 shits about politics. She also owns a fashion brand. She’s here cause Stella is fuNDING THE WAR. 

BIO:

Lisette D’Orleans was a horrible little girl. With a name that gave her most things in life and a seizable bank account that could buy all else. Because of this there was very little to bind her to normal life and it became too easy to ignore the suffering of those around her. She was nice, and well behaved, with a perfect smile always on her lips and a decent enough attitude, but cold and unconcerned with things that didn’t impact her specifically. It wasn’t so much that there hadn’t been attempts to get the young princess interested in the more political or humanitarian side of her title. But ever since she could understand them she found ways to excuse herself from those ‘awful conversations’. 

Instead she developed a taste for wine, music and good company. Her appearance at parties from a young age was renowned. But she wasn’t a wild teenager, not for the world to see at least. Seeing the princess drunk or in any way disheveled was a rare sight, even unflattering photos of her in general were virtually nonexistent. Anything that involved her image was carefully planned, controlled, like a painter with a brush showing only what she wishes you to see. 

The daughter of Prince Fabrice, the younger brother of the King of France, afforded her moderate media attention from a young age, especially in France. However her distance from the throne afforded her much more freedom than her cousins, and even her older brother François. Having dipped her toes for the first time in the fashion world at age 14, with a collaborative children's collection with the Spanish brand Massimo Dutti, the young princesses interest in the area only increased, leading to more collaborations with other brands over her teenage years.

Her move to fashion was one of genuine interest and passion, for colors and patterns and all things that could bring out the most hidden parts of people. But the more she delved into it the more it became another project, something to excel at and make perfect. Getting her own brand wasn’t hard, not even close to hard enough to even mention in her opinion. She had top designers' phone numbers since her teenage years. But she still wanted to work at it. Make it perfect and unquestionably hers. Any personal relationships that suffered from coming second to her job were simply not necessary. 

In 2010 she graduated with a undergraduate degree in Economics from université psl, enrolling in the Institut européen d'administration des affaires for a business masters. At the same time she restarted her collaborations from her youth, having a very popular collection with Channel in Spring 2011.

She officially launched pâquerette with a woman’s autumn/winter collection in 2012 achieving medium commercial success. Over the years the brand has grown, now counting with stores in most european capitals, as well as recurrent appearances at fashion week. The first expansion to the brand came with the collaboration with Laurence Dacade in 2015 in a shoe collection to match both their spring/summer and autumn/winter collections. This was repeated again last year. In 2018 it launched it’s very first children’s collection and now, it’s expanding once more to Men’s Wear.

All this professional success didn’t come cheap. Publicly she’s known as someone with no time for relationships, her record of past flings in the public eye so sparse some have ventured to call her coldhearted. Not that this is much different in private, Lisette’s relationships are few and far between, but she often enjoys company of the female variety.  The news of her first girlfriend then came as quite a shock for all those who were made aware of it. In true Lisette fashion she simply brought her to one of the various family only events. It wasn’t so much that she was trying to be intentionally disagreeable but her goal set mind found it the most simple and productive way of making everyone aware. The secret is kept to the family and a few close friends mostly because most of her life is kept off public view.

[lisettefoix]

Lisette the III: return of the french

&&. is that ( sara sampaio )?? no, it’s just ( lisette margarite du poitiers ). she is the ( duchess ) of ( foix and french andorra ). she is ( thirty ) years old and her birthday is the ( fifth ) of ( october ) which makes her a ( libra ).  she is ( altruistic & affable ) and ( calm & eloquent ) but, unfortunately, also ( self-righteous & meek ). those traits just make her a ( hufflepuff ) and in scientific terms an ( esfj-t ). she is a ( closeted lesbian ) and the plaza’s ( phoenix ).  her theme song is ( south ) by ( sleeping at last ). her interests include ( reading & photography ). she is a ( roman catholic ) and a supporter of ( alliance royale). her quirk is ( she bites her knuckles while she’s thinking ) and favourite quote is ( “prouver que j’ai raison serait accorder que je puis avoir tort.” ) which translated means ( “proving that I am right would be admitting that I could be wrong.” ) by ( pierre de beaumarchais ) because ( she spent enough time hatting herself to not make the best of life from now on. ). last but not least she ( wants to ) believe in true love.

Hi, for those who don’t know me I’m Jo. (for those who do hi i missed you 💙)

I have had about 700 characters in this rp but I’m a bad mom so I’m allowed to say Lis is my favourite kid. I’m in my 3rd year of uni studying art history. I either take 10 minutes to reply or a month. No in-betweens. Warning y’all early this time. I’m Portuguese and I’m gonna need some of the Braganças to come back we’re running out of people.

ABOUT LIS:

As you many see this time around she’s significantly older.

It’s on propose we’re tired of virgin Lis 

Once divorced, once widowed, still in the closet

She’s a duchess now tho so she gives less fucks about what you all think about her, she’s not representing any country 

She’s the Duchess of Foix, and three men had to die for her to get the tittle, she’s Lis 2.0 hero.

the 3 men who had to die: Her father, her Brother, the King Duke of Andorra. Homegirl straight up annexed a whole country into her tiny ass duchy so she could be a gay widow in peace. #doitlikethefrench

so like don’t call her duchess of Andorra or even refer to Andorra as a actual place cause homegirl is TRYING and she doesn’t need the pressure of going around correcting people if Arnauld hears them.

Grew up between the French court and the Hungarian one. (#Lisvente)

Husband one: This was cause at only 13 her dad betrothed her to a Hungarian noble WC (Yes it was a bit bellow her station - all the french have an inflated sense of self importance - a noble from a “insignificant” country like Hungary wasn’t his first choice for Lis - but dude was rich and Sainte-Croix du Poitiers had the name but lost the fortune)

It wasn’t a happy marriage, even despite Lis non interest in men. They after much trying and finally getting pregnant Lis had a miscarrige. (she’s the anti-Barbie)  

But it’s how Lis meet and befriended Levente so there’s that

you’re all allowed to hate me if I don’t post a timeline in like a week with all the details but I wanna keep this kinda short on backstory for now cause I haven’t written anything in 6ish months and Lis deserves better.

(It’s right before the divorce that she has the #GaiaSummer that 100% still happened #Lisaia4ever)

Once Lis is divorced she can’t bear the thought of going back to France. She needs home at a moment like that. So she goes to the one home she ever knew - the Hungarian court. (gasp)

Still very much in the closet to herself and a couple years after the divorce Lis and Levente start seeing each other. They’re friends, they’re adults, they barely can think of relationships in general but a bottle of wine and a few glasses of Champaign helped things.

Lisvente end up in a sort of relationship that becomes public after some leaked pap photos.

Lis ended up breaking it off hoping Levente could be happy with someone else. (cough Zhenya cough)

after that she took time to herself

So she traveled the world, explored herself and came to turns with her sexuality.

Lis  didn’t go to her fathers funeral, she wasn’t wanted and she wasn’t liked. But seeing the obituary of her younger brother on tv in a foreign language shook her to her core.

Alphonse du Poitiers leaves behind a wife and unborn daughter (WC- the sister in law), at 28 years old. Dies during the conquest of Andorra by France. 

Lis has about 4 months to get used to the title of Duchess of Foix when she gets old cousin Arnauld’s call. She was already aware she was going to have to marry again. She just never expected it to be like this.

Husband two: Lis is married to the King Duke of Andorra 5 months before the man dies. She’s 29 and he’s 65 at the time.

Since then she’s been living her best life being the mountain gay of Lis the first dreams. 

also she’s possibly cousin’s with the D’orleans idk fam me and Martha talked about a bunch of stuff and i can’t remember don’t take my word for it you’ll find out at some point. it will be in her connections page.

possible connections + like this post for plots thx 💙love you guys sorry for being trash

+ bonus stuff:

app bonus:  who do you think are above you and who are beneath you?

(answered by a very drunk Lis)

“Above or beneath me? Wha- I mean I’ve gotten cozy with Tessa Thompson but- oh!” Lis realised with a blush “you mean politicly.”

Martha bonus:

[passportrequired]

Barcelona: Food, Day Trips & Boating Naked With Priests

A native man sang in a foreign tongue / I still ache to know the song he sung / Barcelona. – George Ezra

The streets of Barcelona – mainly the ones that barely show up on Google Maps – know me and have led me to some of the most outrageous people, some of the most choice cava, and some of my most reckless travel moments. There was a midnight in Barcelona where I biked up Tibidabo with a sex worker and poet, and an afternoon where I ended up naked borratxo on a boat in the middle of the Mediterranean, looking at what I swear had to be the beginnings of Africa with a guy who said he was a priest and a computer coder who slept beneath me in the hostel. There’s definitely more in the city for me to discover, and as soon as I touch foot to Catalonian earth again, I’ll go a bit deeper.

These Catalonian streets have led me to create these lists to get your trip started.

FOOD:

1. La Alcoba Azul: Carrer de Sant Domenec Del Call, 14 The Caipirinhas are the second best I’ve had in the world – the first being mine – and after eating every pork-less thing on the menu, it’s important I tell you there are no bad decisions. Eat inside the restaurant if you want, but outside is much better.

2. Can Margarit: Carrer de la Concòrdia, 21 Damn shame what I did to that rabbit. This recommendation came from Bella, my Spanish seatmate on the quick flight from Lisbon. She promised I’d love it, based on how I went on and on about the foods I loved most in the city we’d just left. We met outside the Poble Sec metro station and walked over, hands tight on our pockets, praying no one pickpocketed the money we’d need to eat.

3. Picnic: Carrer del Comerç, 1 Traveling with a vegan is, in some cities, one of my least favorite things to do when the hunger comes. It always means we gotta look a little harder for bites. All other times, they’re fine. Especially when it comes to sharing food – they don’t touch mine. Poor Lavonda! But she was a good sport, and “I’ll find something on nay menu” became her mantra. Picnic had everything for everyone and brunch food is never ever ever a bad idea. Best thing I had: pancakes with crème fraiche and fried green tomatoes.

4. La Pepita: Carrer de Còrsega, 343 “There’s always a line. Trust lines,” the drunk priest said. I trusted the drunk priest, shot him a WhatsApp message to see if he’d join, but when he didn’t answer, I assumed he was hugging a less-than-fancy Barcelona toilet. I walked from my hostel in Passeig de Gracia and joined the line. A party of three was at the front, so I told a few jokes and it quickly became a party of four, sitting inside, eating The Golden Pepita, Marinated Salmon, Roasted Octopus, and Roasted Artichoke with Blue Cheese. Feeling swollen as hell, we walked next door to…

5. Xurreria Trebol: Carrer de Còrsega, 341 I’ll keep this one short: I’ve eaten churros in a million places. This place will have me buying tickets just to sniff the air it produces.

6. El Rabipaleo Carrer del Torrent d’En Vidalet, 22 After a long day on the road, playing in random fields guarded by barbed wires and steep hills, and eating random small snacks to stay alive, we wanted something full of flavor in a place full of noise and the life we heard Barcelona is known for. We found it here in this Venezuelan watering hole. Between me, my two travelers, and the two kinda-hitchhikers we picked up, we ordered the entire menu, then ordered more. I suggest you do the same.

7. A Home-cooked Meal: Find a Local: If your energy, attitude, and behavior are dope, make friends who live in the city, or even outside of the city. Make sure they hold tight to their Catalonian roots and beg them to cook you a meal. Whatever it is their mama used to make. Just make sure you buy the ingredients.

One of the most beautiful things about Barcelona is its proximity to other equally beautiful cities and countrysides. Trains and busses will get you there, but if you’re brave, dope, lucky, and believe people are good, you can find a group of travelers with a car who are also headed in any direction.

QUICK DAY TRIPS:

Girona: (1:14 minutes) The architecture that dates back millions (exaggeration) of years, the gardens, the narrow roadways, the picturesque housing along the river, and a slow bustle that’s welcomed after days in Barcelona are all reasons to make this trip happen. Check out the following: Eiffel Bridge; The Jewish Quarter; Girona Cathedral; Placa Independencia;

Sitges: (40 min) One of my favorite places in Catalonia. The beach, the nightlife, the food, the mountains, the views, everything. Be sure to check out: Old Town; Garraf Natural Park; Passeig Maritim. And because you’re like me and believe in having a drink in every new city, stop by Casa Bacardi and learn the history of Barcadi while sipping a mojito – or whatever you drink.

Figueres: (1:44 minutes) To be honest, I didn’t find much to do here except eat fartons, drink warm chocolates, frolic in fields just below mountains, and have my mind blown by the absolutely must-see Teatre-Museu Gala Salvador Dalí, the museum of Dali’s work designed by Dali himself. Do yourself this favor.

Costa Brava: (Stay til sunset) Catalonia’s coastal region stretches from Blanes to the border of France. This drive is perfect in warm months, stopping every so often, long enough to at least dip a toe in. Take in the breeze, passing through Alt Emporda, Baix Emporda, and Selva. Thank me later.

And when you’re full and your eyes have seen as much as they can possibly take in one day, I hope you fall in love with someone who teaches you to Flamenco in the middle of the Gothic Quarter around 2am while you’re both drunk on the cava, wondering where to find small fried fish.

WHERE I’VE SLEPT & WOULD SLEEP AGAIN:

I don’t feel the need to go into detail about how great these places are individually. In each of them, I’ve made new friends, made travel partners I vibe well with, drank plenty of beer and tequila, and solidified my belief that most people are good. Each of these places were located in extremely safe areas and each were in walking distance to everything I wanted to see (I also love to walk, so everything is walking distance to me). I recommend each of these places, but only if your energy and vibe are as dope as the true travelers I know.

Safestay Passeig de Gracia Passeig de Gràcia, 33

The Hipstel Parallel Carrer Salva, 36

St. Christopher’s Barcelona Carrer de Bergara, 3

Generator Carrer de Corsega, 373

Couchsurfing.com It’s no secret that I love traveling on a tight budget, meeting new people and sharing plates and stories with them. And Couchsurfing has been the perfect way to do just that. Couchsurfing is a community of travelers who welcome other travelers into their space because that is what we need to do to open up the world!

Enjoy Barcelona. Let me know if this list helped you at all.

Barcelona: Food, Day Trips & Boating Naked With Priests was originally published on Passport Required

[betweenthornsandpetals-blog]

　┊✿┊ « Le seul héritier » 　　　　‣ cerrado 　　　　‣ 12:00 　　　　‣ chapter 51: the flower crown of France 　　　　⌈ ✨🍁🗼 ⌋ en el châteaux de lefleur 　 　 #AutumnEquinoxVeela

5 de noviembre de 2017 　　{ 🏰🌺 } The sole heir 　 　　　 El veela se adelantó a la antesala del Petit Trianón cuando Juliette le informó sobre una visitante; Joan sabía que veelas iban y venían con tranquilidad de ese, el refugio por excelencia en Francia, sin embargo ¿por qué podrían haber pedido verle a él? Aquello se reveló en el momento que observó la pequeñita figura con el largo cabello negro recogido con flores y brillantes, en una ropa tan desarreglada que delataba su informal apariencia… Su inconfundible, carismática y hermosa maestra. 　 — ¿¡HYE!? —las piernas no parecieron darle las suficientes fuerzas para moverse tan a prisa como el veela lo hubiera deseado; ¡era su maestra! Después de tanto tiempo, estaba allí, en Francia. Hye no había cambiado ni un poco. La muchacha no dudó en recibir al alto veela entre sus brazos, aferrándolo con fuerza entre sus brazos, hundiendo el delicado rostro en su hombro—. Mi pequeño nada pequeño… —se rió ella, haciendo que el veela riese también, separándose sólo para poder llevarle a una de las cámaras privadas, el pequeño despacho que antes perteneció a Gloire, su abuela, y aún se encontraba bastante intacto tras su partida. 　 Ambos se sentaron frente al escritorio, y pese a que Joan le ofreció algo de comer y beber, Hye no iba con rodeos jamás, comenzando entonces con un tono bastante suave, como tanteando el terreno— Debes estar enterado, pero tu tía-abuela Petunia no se ha encontrado bien… 　 Aquello sorprendió a Joan, ya que no entendió a dónde iba preguntando aquello, sin embargo, estaba seguro que las piezas irían cayendo en su sitio, para eso necesitaba escuchar—. Sí, estoy enterado… — Bueno, debes entender que es posible que vuelva a Madre, ¿estás consciente de ello, verdad? —continuó Hye, aún manteniendo el –bastante calculador– tono de voz que había manejado desde el inicio. Amaba eso de Hye, sabía llenar los espacios de la conversación cuando Joan era incapaz de más que aquel tipo de simples respuestas—. Sí… también estoy consciente de ello. — Pues… nos encontramos en algo así como una encrucijada. —la expresión de Hye era tranquila, aunque sus palabras llegaban a denotar los nervios que la atenazaban—. Con Petunia perdemos a la última cabeza de las Lefleur; así, la herencia queda tanto en tu madre, Gloire, como en la única hija de Margarite, Violett. —la familia de Joan era un tanto complicada de entender, sin embargo, él asintió, entendiendo a la perfección y siguiendo la línea que Hye trazaba. No, no estaba contando a Tessa, su hermana y su padre… pero tampoco a los demás; sus tíos por parte de su abuela Gloire, había un factor particular: 　 — Son las últimas veelas Lefleur… —dijo Joan. 　 — Correcto. —respondió Hye, notablemente complacida pero también nerviosa—. No estoy muy segura si Gloire deseará encargarse de la herencia cuando Petunia se marchite… sin embargo, sé que Violett no lo hará. He hablado con ella antes de venir. Joan entendió entonces todo; las piezas fueron suficientes—. Eso no es lo que te preocupa, ¿no es así? — No, no lo es. Debes saber por dónde va esto, yo te he instruido, después de todo. —Sí, Hye hablaba con suficiencia, pero había enseñado bien al muchacho, pues sí, ya lo había intuido. 　 — Soy el único veela de mi generación. —fue su única respuesta, pues sabía que, en su sencillez, era la correcta. — Así es. —convino Hye con un deje de orgullo que ocultó lo mejor que pudo—. Eso te convierte en el único heredero legítimo del Palacio… pero más importante aún… —Hye calló por un momento, manteniéndose quieta, como si estuviese buscando las palabras, algo que Joan no le había visto hacer… al menos no de esa forma; tuvo que esperar ansioso hasta que la veela volvió a hablar—. Las Lefleur, con el Château como insignia, son las líderes de la «corona de flores» francesa. No sé si Gloire aceptará, pero de no hacerlo… 　 Esta vez, Hye no completó la idea que había dejado al aire… y el completarla fue algo que le heló la sangre a Joan—. … ¿quieres que yo…? 　 Fue entonces que la veela retomó la voz—. Sé que es demasiado pedir, considerando que eres un docente y prácticamente un recién florecido (nacido), sin embargo, no hay nadie más. 　 La «corona de flores francesa», el liderato de las veelas francesas. Líder, protector… ¿cuántas responsabilidades no albergaban aquellos títulos? Sin embargo, algo más aún hacía ruido en la cabeza de Joan—. … pero… ¿qué hay de mis hermanos? ¿Y mi prima Tessa, mi primo Daniel…? —sí, le preocupaba la «herencia»; sabía que ninguno de ellos se quedaría en la calle… sin embargo, aquel era tanto su hogar como de ellos. 　 Sin embargo, Hye tomó responsabilidad de responder con la seriedad que aquello ameritaba—. Ninguno de ellos es veela, Joan. Sabes que todos serán bienvenidos a este sitio, sin embargo, este es un hogar de veelas… las cosas habrán cambiado en estos milenios, sin embargo, la aceptación del mestizaje no llega allí. Jamás podrán heredar este sitio. 　 Joan lo comprendía, mentalmente, pero no con el corazón—. No me siento cómodo con ello, Hye… 　 La veela sonrió, sabiendo del corazón del joven, y acercándose para dejar su mano sobre el hombro ajeno con la total confianza que ambos se tenían—. Sé que no es así… pero debo pedirte que hables con tu madre y decidan qué harán. Me temo que si declinan… ninguno de ustedes podrá volver a este sitio. 　 Desalojar a todos los Lefleur… era una responsabilidad demasiado grande—. Hye… 　 Ella no lo dejó continuar—. Discútelo con Gloire, querido… sabes dónde contactarme, por favor, envíame una misiva con la firma de ambos tan pronto puedas, ¿está bien? —entonces la muchacha se levantó, sorprendiendo al veela, que por instinto reaccionó haciendo lo mismo. 　 — ¡Espera! ¿Te vas ya…? —preguntó, sonando más alarmado de lo que hubo deseado, algo que sólo hizo sonreír, acercándose con tranquilidad a él. 　 — Nos volveremos a ver muy, muy pronto, ¿está bien? —se puso sobre la punta de sus pies, y aún así, Joan tuvo que dejar caer su cabeza sólo un poco para que alcanzase a colocarle el beso sobre la frente—. Cuida de tu tía-abuela… y cuida de ti. 　 Fue una despedida incluso más dura que la última vez, ya que Joan se había quedado con un peso en sus hombros que parecía casi imposible de levantar. Necesitaba regresar a Elían… pero no podía esperar.