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[This girl doesn't look much older than her younger sister, and even if she would say the same to anyone, she't help being a little spurred on because of it all the same. Her voice is firm, but kind.]

Hello, there. You have nothing to apologise for and you're not a disappointment, especially not for questioning your own limitations in a war you never asked to fight in.

I really wish - oh, I don't know. [Her mother had told her the time would come when she would have to fight, but she hadn't expected it to be so soon. Not like this, anyway. She fidgets.] It's just, it was all very sudden. And I still know so little about what's going on and what's expected of me. You're right, I didn't ask for this. But now that I'm here, something must be done.

I understand, and to be honest I doubt you're alone in that. Doing something doesn't mean having to fight, though. There isn't any shame in that, especially since fighting people is something different than fighting mindless monsters.

Yes... it is. [That comment hits close to home: Lizzie has fought mindless monsters before, and even though they had human bodies and faces, it was still easier than she supposes killing a self-aware man might be.

It's difficult for her to explain her sense of obligation, especially since she's so embarrassed of her prowess at swordplay. She fumbles for the words: ] But I feel they must have... expectations of me.

[Flora wouldn't be surprised if this girl knows for herself. If she's as young as she looks, she started fighting around her age.]

It doesn't mean you're beholden to them. This is a lot more complicated than it seems, and I'm not going to presume to know your feelings, but you shouldn't do what doesn't feel right to you, especially with something this serious. You'll only end up regretting it.

[She smiles gently.]

May I ask your name, please?

[Man, even Peter has to draw a line at making little girls fight. Probably. ]

They didn't bring you here on your own, did they?

They did. The night I came, I had been on a ship with my family, but when I came here... I couldn't find them at all. Oh, but I have found an auntie here, she's lovely, of course. Still...

[Still, it would help to have Mother or Father or Brother here to help guide her sword.]

[An aunt, at least. ]

Were you lucky to be in the same court as her?

[Because Peter, probably through karma, ended up the exact opposite of his nephew. ]

Yes, thank heavens.

[Well, not really. But Madam Red has been masquerading as a Seelie for Elizabeth's sake - mustn't let the sweet thing know that her darling auntie has darker ways - and Lizzie's none the wiser, for now.

She really is thanking the heavens, too, since - a shock! - her aunt had been dead before arriving in this place. Elizabeth still doesn't know what to make of these fairies.]

She's a comfort! [Although Lizzie worries.] But without my parents here, or even my brother... I feel like I don't have guidance. [They at least know about her swords, after all.]

That's understandable. There's nothing quite like being with your closest family.

[Like he'd know what it means to be close to family, though. ]

Have some faith, they could show themselves soon.

It'd be terrible to wish them to such a place, though. And if I'm needed to help here, it seems wrong to want so badly to escape. Overall, it's best for them to stay at home, isn't it? It's just...

[There's a pause, and then abruptly, she's practically glowing with joy, hands clasped.]

But it is so wonderful to see my dear aunt again! Yes! So I'm really very glad about it, yes!

[M-Moodswings?! Really, she just hates to present such a sad face to anyone. She must be a good girl, she tells herself, and make the most of what she can. A lady shouldn't be so somber.]

It's alright to be a little selfish. Wanting them here isn't such a bad thing, you know.

... so, I'm just gonna say that anyone who thinks you're a disappointment for not wanting to fight kind of sounds like a jerk. I mean, not everyone's a fighting kind of person, right?

[Unfortunately, she's supposed to be a fighting kind of person - and in practice, she's actually very good at it, but she has too big of a heart to be brutal.]

I can't think of why else I would have been brought here. And I don't want to shame my family's name. I have to represent them while I'm here - and they would do what they'd need to.

I guess I can't say much on that front. I'm not too big on fighting, either, but I've also got a couple of people here that I already know I'll fight for, so. [ So he's fairly set and decided. He'll do what they need him to do because he loves them and junk. ] On the bright side, at least it looks like you've got time to figure out what you want to do most before any huge battles come up.

[Strangely, what he says reassures her. There's a code she's been raised by, the way a knight is supposed to live, even though she isn't one. (Only because they don't knight little girls in England.) But she understands. She'd fight to protect her family. She'd fight to protect the boy she loves more than anything.

Maybe she's looking at this wrong. Her objective isn't to help win this war for the sake of fairies and their strange world: it's to succeed in such a way that will allow her home to be with him again. And that's what she wants to do most.

She smiles, calmer now.]

Despite everything, the fairies are really good at helping to pass time. They help me make things for the castle. They don't seem like warmongers at all.

[ Success! A smile! ]

Yeah, they seem like they're really great little guys! Or girls. Oooor neither. Not really sure how things apply with... magical creatures. What kind of stuff do you make?

[The uncertainty brings her so far as to giggle, this time, hand raised daintily to her mouth.]

Um, things out of flowers. Crowns and wreathes and chains. Just things to make it a little bit cuter around here.

Oh, that's nice! We don't see a lot of flower-wreathing back home, unless someone's selling them from a stall. If you go around picking flowers there, it's usually kind of like "hey, that's city property" or they're in someone's personal garden.

At my home, I usually do pick from our gardens. But I understand what you mean. It's nice to have flowers all over the place for everyone!

Yeah, it is. Things aren't always great around here, but at least there are still plenty of good things to balance it out a little. Free rooms, good food, public flowers...

And some really wonderful people! People like you who really help to cheer me up! Thank you so much, sir, you've done me such a wonderful favor. Um, I'm Elizabeth Midford. It's really nice to meet you.

It's nice to meet you too, Elizabeth! That's a really nice name. [ Avatarverse is pretty light on the Elizabeths. ] I'm Bolin! And you know, don't worry about it. I like cheering people up as much as people like being cheered up, pretty much.

[Ahh, she's sparkling, her eyes are shining... She takes a big breath of air, and then blurts out,]

Please call me Lizzie, Mister Bolin! You know what, I think we're kindred spirits!

[She's been wanting to form a CHEER UP SQUAD...]

Oh, you don't have to worry about calling me Mister anything! Just Bolin's fine with me. It's sort of what everyone calls me. [ You don't say, Bolin. Actually this is like the second 14-year-old girl he's met who would go in for the cheer up squad. It must be a sign. ] Who doesn't like being on first name terms with a kindred spirit?

[ alisha's not really the pep talk kind of girl. she's the type to agree, and say, yeah, you are a disappointment, simply because being vulnerable and believing in another is way too much. but what this girl says hits too close to home. alisha's no the type to fight, either. she's the type to run, far, far away, and in hopes of never returning. ]

The monarchs brought us here for a reason, yeah? Maybe yours isn't to fight with a sword or whatever the fuck people use to fight in this shitty little world. [ there's a pause, before she shrugs her shoulder, glancing off to the side. ] It's not like I'm any good with a sword or even a bat. What the fuck am I going to do if I can't defend myself in this bullshit war?

[ this is the british young offender way of saying you're not alone. ]

[Goodness gracious! Elizabeth, being a sheltered young woman from the late 1800s, has never even heard a string of curses such as the one Alisha's just let out. Scandalized, she blushes all the way to the roots of her hair, and can't help but stammer.]

Y- Yes, it's difficult...! [she squeaks, for a moment unable to say anything else more. She still can't believe what she just heard. But upon considering the other words - the important words - she swallows, and tries, at least, to compose herself.]

That is to say... I believe that defending yourself, and those closest to you, is... the most important thing. [Maybe she's not ready to kill people for this war, but she could do it if she were defending her family, or her fiance. Probably, she'll be expected to. It's still hard to swallow, but— ] You have to be ready for anything when it comes to defending yourself. For our own sakes, we really might be meant to pick up a... bat. Or, or a sword.

And I think that's what I'm afraid of, that it's what I'm meant for. Not defending myself, but other things.

[ as someone who has killed to defend her friends, but doesn't particularly like the idea of killing, she gets it. the probation workers who are now buried out in the woods were murdered out of self-defense. it's not like she really takes those crime shows she watches to heart, learning the tricks of the trade and all that bullshit. even if it doesn't sound like alisha understands, what with the string of curses lacing her thoughts, hopefully the important words elizabeth grasps shows her she does. it's why she's so angry about it all. she wasn't meant for this, either. ]

[ the stammering reminds her of simon, of how he'd always been unsure if he should voice his thoughts. she thinks nothing of it, not even thinking to tone down the vulgarity of her words. she shrugs. ] Tell them to go fuck themselves. Why should we bow to what they think our destiny is? We're the masters of our own fate or some bullshit.

[All over again, Lizzie's face is scarlet at the very idea of telling anybody to - to - that. But her embarrassment doesn't mean she dismisses Alisha's words: she's trying her sweetest to focus on the overarching idea that Alisha conveys. Deep breaths, Lizzie, your delicate sensibilities can deal with this.]

Um, I've worried - that things like this really are my fate. It almost feels like a terrible confirmation... that I've been waiting for.

[Now she's embarrassed again, but she's done it to herself, talking like that, making herself sound brutish instead of sweet. Anybody with such a harsh destiny must be a frightening person. Elizabeth doesn't want to be that way at all, and it shames her to have admitted a little bit about it to somebody, especially a stranger. She says, eyes darting down,] I'm sorry. Sorry! That's such a gloomy thing! It's not like I haven't seen a lot of amazing things...

[ it saddens him greatly that the monarchs have made of children an army and asked them to lay down their lives. It's just not right and with a wane smile, he answered this poor child's call. ]

Fear not! I doubt you'll be forced to bear a weapon in this army if we can help it. There are far too many other tasks a young girl like yourself can do to ease an army's plight.

Have you considered taking an interest in nursing or perhaps the culinary arts? Every army needs to eat well before a battle!

[ and then he can whisk her away long before the dead and the dying come rolling back into the tents. No sense traumatizing her before she's even fifteen! ]

[It shames Elizabeth to think that were she set against a man, sword in hand, she'd be good at it. That's still not the kind of person she wants to be, even though a looming war makes the situation dire, makes the unveiling of her deepest secrets - her ability to be a violent young women - a necessity.

But this man is so very kind, and he gives her such nice things to hope for, a life freer of responsibility with an absence of her pseudo-knighthood. A trait that landed her in the Seelie court, she believes deeply in chivalry, and seeks to practice it herself whenever she can. Protect the weak. How can she do that if she doesn't take up arms? How could she forgive herself for idling when she has the capacity to do more?

But that she even has worries like these is humiliating. She smiles with a summer's warmth and shine.]

And they need cakes in celebration for when they return, of course!

[Be as vapid as you can. Be an unknowing angel. But it's scary right now, and she talks about cakes but she's thinking about what it would be like to kill a man with an extension of her own hand.]

[ Oscar will find it a sad day when a bright young girl like Elizabeth is put on the front lines when she could just as easily be put to good use elsewhere! There's a difference in using a sword to protect versus seeking out the kill.

Stay safe, dear Elizabeth...

But Oscar knew naught of what was running through his new acquaintances head and simply smiled, chuckling lightly ]

Of course, and a great variety of them too! And one should never forget the tea. [ or the wine to drown out the memories but a man did not mention such things in polite company. At least not at the first meeting. ]

[Unfortunately for Integra, this sort of enquiry hits a little too close to home. Upon the wake of her father's death, she had taken up her knighthood when she was not much younger than Lizzie-- because that is what had been expected of her. She had a burden weighing on her shoulders, as a means to ease the lives of those around her.]

Do not consider yourself a disappointment, Miss Elizabeth. You-- like the rest of us, received no choice in this war. Hone your skills, though you mustn't fight senselessly. To bear a sword is a privilege: to protect yourself and those who are unable. I do not wish to fight, yet I would not dismiss the fact this world is dangerous. One can never be too cautious.

[They're good words for her to hear, and again, Integra reminds Elizabeth of her mother. It's a comfort. Lizzie can wear it like a brace, use it to straighten her back and lift up her chin. Contemplating this - to bear a sword is a privilege - she nods.]

That's what's really necessary, isn't it? Protecting those who are unable... That's why anybody needs a knight. A knight...

[She isn't a knight like the men in her family, but she thinks like one regardless. Aside from measuring the cuteness factors in just about everything, anyway.]

[She listens Elizabeth's words contemplatively, emitting a soft chuckle. She reminded Integra of herself, in truth-- or how she used to be.]

That is exactly why one trains to become a knight: to protect, to defend, and to rid of injustice. Though you needn't be a knight to live up to these ideals.

It's about being strong for their sakes, right?

Yes. For who else is to be strong for them?

[Very knightly, much chivalry, wow. There is a tiny hint of a smile creeping onto Integra's face.]

Sir Integra, I fear I... I may not have been the best choice. Though I do want to be strong. [She confides this smally.]

[Well, this was new. Integra is not exactly used to children confiding in her, and admittedly, she has never fancied herself a confidante. The last thing she wished was to inadvertently discourage the girl.]

If you do not mind telling me, what seems to be troubling you child?

[She asks this in earnest; the concern almost palpable in her tone. Was it something she said?]

Edited (wording) 2014-07-09 04:20 (UTC)

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