Salve for the Wounds

[Lady Lisette de Lac]

Lord Laurent de Lac


Nothing hurt her more than knowing she'd hurt her twin, the other half of herself. The Day to her all-too-dark Night. And she'd hurt him badly, sliced him open and left him bleeding. It frightened Lisette, knowing she could do that. It meant there was far more of their mother in her than she ever dreaded and required stronger control. Allowing herself to brood on that for a short time, resolve and shared pain had her going in search of Laurent the next morning. 

Lisette hoped against hope that he'd come home the night prior, aware that he'd gone out to vent his own emotions. Venturing almost timidly to the door of the chamber beside her own, she paused to listen with her ear pressed against the door, checking for any signs or sounds of her twin's presence. Not hearing any had her heart sinking, but she squared her shoulders, determined regardless. A deep breath was taken as she lifted a hand, softly rapping twice before testing the latch to see if she could enter the room and speak to him privately. This was not for Ari's ears. 

[Lord Laurent de Lac]

Vivianne's words had been good ones. She was a good woman. Thomas's attraction was certainly understandable. Laurent was envious of him, in a way. It was not that Laurent thought he would be alone for the rest of his life and he was certain he would find someone. Nonetheless, the gentle shoulder of a woman would have been much appreciated. After the dinner and the conversation, Laurent dragged himself back to his room as he preferred the comfort of his bed to that of a strange inn's.

The following morning he realized the folly of his ways: he had eaten entirely too much. His gut was showing its form of appreciation. Thus, rather than move, he kept the covers over his head and decided to wait out the nausea. The door knock was not heard at first. The door was not locked and thus its turning caused his head to peek out. "Go away, Ari. This is not a morning for me."

[Lady Lisette de Lac]

A faint smile curved her lips as she let herself in and gently closed the door, securing the latch to preserve their privacy. For as much as she loved her older brother, this was neither the time nor the place for Ari. This business was strictly between Laurent and herself. Crossing over to the bed, Lisette eased onto the edge and rested a hand lightly on his lower back. "It isn't Ari, Laurent. I've come to beg your forgiveness. I was dreadful, and hurtful," fighting back tears, she sniffed them back and made herself continue, "and I am so very sorry."

[Lord Laurent de Lac]

The door was opened, anyway, of course. Aristide never did listen to him during times like this. No doubt, he had heard what transpired with his twin and would demand an explanation. It was not a conversation Laurent was particularly looking forward to. However, he stiffened when he felt a weight on the bed. It was too light to be Aristide. Hearing Lisette's voice stilled him, an emotion he could not readily identify flooding through him.

After giving voice to her apology, Laurent did not move for several moments. A deep, dark part of him did not want to forgive him and wanted to jerk away, telling her to leave him be. However, the kinder, gentler side of him told him that was no way to treat his dear sister. She had been angry. She had been upset. Vivianne's words drifted through his mind. Laurent started shifting in the bed, trying to emerge from the covers. He was definitely a sight when he did so: his hair was a mess, he had bags under his eyes and he even looked a little green.

Reaching out, he gently drew Lisette to him, knowing that he did not exactly smell his best. "I forgive you and I am sorry, too. I was inconsiderate."

[Lady Lisette de Lac]

The sight of him warmed her heart and made her soften visibly, a hand reaching to smooth down the wildly askew hair. Laurent always awakened looking like he'd participated in a drunken revel, though she knew her twin was not the drunken debauchery sort. That dubious honor was better awarded to Aristide. He did, however, look frankly terrible and he was a bit... fragrant. Despite that, Lisette gladly slid closer. "I started it, so it's more my fault than yours. I said things I did not mean, and should never have said. I... that man and his entire family make me so angry that I'm not myself anymore."

Resting her head on his shoulder, she paused and sniffed carefully, then lifted her head to eye him. "You went on a binge at the tavern. I'm so sorry I upset you that much, Laurent."

[Lord Laurent de Lac]

It was still early in the morning and thus Laurent's more acerbic side kept threatening to come out to play, but he kept it ruthlessly in check. After all, it would do him no good to ruin his reputation as a pocket of sunshine. She did start it, but he should have dropped the matter as soon as it was raised. Granted, there was no way of knowing if the outcome would have been any different. "I knew you didn't mean what you said," but it still hurt. Despite that, though, Laurent was forcing the conversation into the past. "I didn't want us angry anymore, but I was also unfair; I've not been through what you and Ari have."

The mention of the binge made him turn a little more green. "Oh, I was overdue, anyway," he managed a weak smile. "And the food was good, at least."

[Lady Lisette de Lac]

Her eyes lowered at the mention of what both Ari and she endured; in that regard, he was more right than he knew. It was far too easy to judge when you hadn't faced certain things personally. Laurent was the lucky one of the family; he was often given leave to do as he pleased without stricture or scolding. "It's done. We will both heal and perhaps be a little wiser for it, but I think it's best if you and Ari go to the festival while I stay here." The likelihood of encountering anyone bearing the de Vere name was far too high for her to risk it. "And yes," Lisette looked sternly at her twin, "you are going. It will be good for you."

She reserved the right - to herself, at least - to change her mind on that, but for now, devoted herself to making him feel better. A soft kiss went to his forehead as she shifted to stand. "Perhaps, but now you feel vile. Why don't you stay in bed? I'll see about some tea and toast. And a bath." Her eyes resumed a brief twinkle, knowing they were both aware of his need for one.

[Lord Laurent de Lac]

"I think you should go, too. There are promises of fine foods. We can keep you away from the unpleasant company. I think they've been warned off for the time being," he gave a light smile and then let out a breath once she released him from the hug. "I think you'd enjoy it, actually. I think Aristide has already arranged a barge just for our family and perhaps Uncle Daven's." He supplied hopefully, "They should prove enjoyable company and we can see our cousins again."

He sniffed at himself and winced, "Yes, I suppose I should. Thank you, Lisette. I honestly don't know what I would do witht out." And he was being genuine as he stated this, too.

[Lady Lisette de Lac]

"Let's pray we never find out. And I'll think about it." More than that, she wasn't willing to promise yet as she got to her feet and smiled again, intending to summon the promised tea, toast and bath. He raised more than one valid point about seeing their family, and the truth was, they needed to make some powerful friends while they were at it. "You just want to see what a royal feast is like again." A teasing note finally entered her voice as she smoothed her skirts.

[Lord Laurent de Lac]

"Well, yeah, don't you?" He blinked at her, but he did smile nonetheless. It was a relief to know that they had worked out their dif-... well, that they had at least apologized to each other. He wasn't certain that they agreed on the future, but he had a feeling they could talk about it with cooler heads now. That would, hopefully, go far more smoothly! "That and I'd like to see Lady Julia again. We've always gotten along well."

[Lady Lisette de Lac]

"Of course I do. Where else can we partake of delicacies we couldn't necessarily afford?" She flashed a smile impishly back at him, knowing that the family could realistically afford quite a bit thanks to their father's careful management and Ari's shrewd investments. Still, dining on someone else's coin added extra spice to any dish.

The mention of their cousin Julia had her nodding; thankfully, the eldest of their uncle's daughters was a level-headed, sensible and reasonable girl. "True. She's the closest to our age. Perhaps we should invite her to join us at this feast?"

[Lord Laurent de Lac]

"Yes, that would probably go over well," he nodded thoughtfully. "It's been a few years, but I doubt she's changed all that much. She's had to be the de facto mother of the house for so long, but I hope she does allow herself a good time now and again. With a fiery family like that, I'd think it necessary!"

Laurent cleared his throat, then. "Speaking of family, how is Aristide doing?" He knew the ordeal had been very difficult on him.

[Lady Lisette de Lac]

"Our family isn't too much better," she reminded him dryly with a roll of her eyes and a sigh. "We really do need to figure out what to do and see it done. Whether it's writing to Lady Rose or letting Uncle Daven handle it, time is running out. She's bound to try and travel here soon." The thought of that made Lisette shudder and twitch visibly.

"Ari? He's... coping. Being away from there is only doing him good, and he's been up to mischief with Thomas and one of the court ladies, I believe. Perhaps we should look for him?"