003 ☙ [VIDEO] | Seelie

[thequitecontrary]

[Waking up from being asleep for a year is much like coming out of a coma. It took Mary a few days to feel truly herself again, but now she's back and well and truly confused about what happened to her.

The last that she remembered, she had finally been able to smash the damn harp in her dreams and get some rest from the depression that constantly haunted her for weeks. One night she drifted off and the next thing she knew it was May... a year later. Obviously, much has happened and she wonders why she had to be the one to be put into a magical sleep and miss everything.

She experienced a dream, or what felt like a dream, during her sleep - that she was back at Downton and that she had interacted with her family members, even lived her life there for a year while her body was asleep here. The details of what happened are clear, though remembering it feels like watching everything happen through a veil over her face.

On the locket she appears rested, to say the least. She's bathed, washed her hair, and styled it so that she looks presentable. But there's confusion and a bit of fear in her eyes as she tries to get answers.]

Have I truly been asleep for a year? I fear this could be quite a long conversation, but what have I missed? And was I the only one afforded this privilege of missing out on a year of my life?

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[psalmed]

An entire year?

[Lia is surprised. Quite surprised but she tries to smooth her face into something generic and pretty. It wouldn't do to scare her, after all. And she had absently wondered where Lady Mary was, throughout the year.]

I am afraid you would have to be more specific, mademoiselle.

[thequitecontrary]

Miss de Beaumont. [Mary looks pleased to see her.] I do hope that you're well. And yes, an entire year from what I understand. The last time I remember being awake was the end of April of last year.

[psalmed]

It was a year of relative quiet, comparatively. No battles. A score of parties and hunts.

[But she can't speak for the world at large, can she?]

There was unrest. Between the natives and the shard bearers. Negative sentiment. I...fortunately avoided most of that but perhaps someone close by could fill you in.

[thequitecontrary]

[So not only did she miss a year, she missed a year of peace and parties and fun. Wonderful.]

Is there a reason why the natives dislike the shard bearers?

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[starspangled]

You weren't the only one. I know someone who just woke up too. I slept through most of it myself.

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[thequitecontrary]

I suppose that makes me feel slightly better. Apparently we missed out on a lot though.

[Fun things too. Figures. Mary would have been fine sleeping through another war.]

One has to wonder, why us?

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[starspangled]

Most of it was bad, if that makes you feel any better.

[And how could it.]

I wish I knew. Nothing like this has ever happened to you before?

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[thequitecontrary]

Bad? I heard there were parties and festivals. [Those are a few of her favorite things.]

Have I ever fallen asleep and woken up a year later? No, I cannot say that I have. [She appraises the man on her screen.] Have you?

{Video}

[rangerandking]

{The year had been difficult - filled with obstacles - yet he can't imagine having slept through it.}

I am ready to help you, my lady, should you not encounter your companions. The world is much changed.

{Video}

[thequitecontrary]

[Well there's a handsome face on her screen. And he called her 'my lady', so evidently he knows how to talk to a woman of her station.]

Thank you. I appreciate your offer, sir. Tell me... do you not live with the Elves at the Maechenibryth?

[She vaguely remembers him from her time there, when she was frostbitten after fleeing from Caer Glaem.]

{Video}

[rangerandking]

{There are times he sees to his appearance - like when he is representing the Elves publicly. However he has gone through a period of not being that interested in it. Depression is a hard thing to shake and it weighs heavily on him after spending a year, more or less, cut off from a majority of the Drabwurld.}

I do. I recall you staying with us last year? You are always welcome to return if you have need.

{Video}

[thequitecontrary]

[Taken care of or not, Mary knows a handsome man when she sees one, even if this one looks troubled.]

Thank you again. I found their hospitality to be quite warm and welcoming. They saved my life.

[She'll never forget that.]

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[cinnamoned]

Could have been longer. I know one woman who was asleep for.....oh, must have been around 28 years at least. But then, this wasn't a Sleeping Curse. I don't think you were the only one though.

[Really, Mary. You're comparatively lucky in that. A year is still a long time, but nothing in comparison to Aurora. Or herself potentially if Charming hadn't found her and woken her with True Love's Kiss.]

So what happened while you were asleep, exactly? You say you...went home?

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[thequitecontrary]

A man told me that he had also slept for seventy years. You must come from very strange worlds.

[She doesn't see herself as lucky. In her world, a person who slept for a year would probably be considered dead and buried alive.]

I believe that I did though.. it's rather murky. I remember details but it is like watching it through a glass rather than experiencing it for myself.

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[cinnamoned]

Pretty sure that must be a record then. But....I'm aware my home isn't the most normal, no.

[Well, the Enchanted Forest anyway. That's always fun to bring up and confuse everyone with, outside her name itself being familiar to almost everyone around here when she gives it. But she herself was considered to be dead, in a coffin the dwarves carried when Charming had found her.]

Like a glass? You have no idea how appropriate that is, at least for me. That still isn't so bad. Though the main thing is that you are all right now, of course. Besides that confusion and loss of time, I mean.

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[thequitecontrary]

Which is no small thing, I might add. There's nothing like such a thing to set a person's life askew.

[She feels as though she's missed everything and she's the type of person who hates missing things.]

May I ask why a glass in particular is appropriate for you?

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[angelolatry]

A-ah? You were asleep the whole time? Are you okay?

[Isn't too much sleep bad for you? Let alone. That long.....? And this coming from the teenager who literally couldn't sleep back home during her Angel Transformation. This is the opposite problem but still clearly serious!]

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[thequitecontrary]

I believe that I am fine, thank you, just feeling a bit out of sorts, as one might imagine.

[Mary agrees that it's probably bad for her, though she didn't have much choice. Thank the monarchs who thought this was a fantastic idea.]

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[angelolatry]

Ah, I guess so. But that's good. Were you the only one asleep or were there others too? I don't think anyone I knew did, at least.....I wonder how. Still, you're okay now and that's the main thing! I'm glad.

[Give her a moment here. Then, she remembers those things called manners.]

Oh, I'm Colette!

[depicted]

There were others.

[It is Dorian, but it isn't. His manner is different, his voice changed. Even so, he looks on her without malice, even almost with a kind of kindness. And indeed, it seems it really is kindness, as he first asks:] Are you feeling all right now?

[thequitecontrary]

Mr. Grey. [Mary grins at the sight of him, though she can tell that there is something different about him. Despite the fact that he is not looking at her unkindly, it seems as though he has lost some of his gentility.] I am fine, thank you.... Are you?

[depicted]

[He can't dismiss the question out of hand. THANKS, RIDIRE! Instead, he has to answer with a wry smile, inclining his head.] You've noticed the attitude change, then? While you were resting, I took a sleep of my own. It sent me home, and I grew up.

A bit of a change for the both of us.

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[cerebral]

Mary! [The year - actually, more the past few months - haven't been easy on Charles. He's not quite the state of disarray before he'd come here, but he looks tired and carelessly unkempt. Although pleased to see her.]

You fell asleep at the same time the monarchs left and the fairy rings stopped working. It's not unheard of for people to do so for weeks or months, but a year is - well, a little more unusual. It's good to see you.

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[thequitecontrary]

Thank you, Mr. Xavier. [Yes, she's still going to call him that because she's a proper lady until the end.] What great fortune I must have to be the one selected to sleep for a year. [Though the sarcasm will always be present, proper lady or not.]

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[cerebral]

[Good thing Charles has never been a proper gent.]

I don't know. There's a few of us who wouldn't object. [He's trying to be upbeat but it's a very thin smile.] It's a lot to fill in and - well, there wasn't anything momentous like the last battle, but not all of it was pleasant. [His smile attempts to broaden again, trying for everyone's sake not to make it sound too bleak with - ] Although I'm afraid you missed some good parties.