The Royal Palace

She nodded to Hansel, who slipped out the window before Genevieve opened the door to step into the hallway, only to be jolted by Arianne. The women were of a similar height, yet somehow, Genevieve appeared smaller and fragile as if she was made of glass.

She was her pale, her once sunshine gold hair now white, her honey-and-rose skin now pallid, her once vibrant eyes now dulled. And there were now lines on her face, on her forehead, at her eyes, at the corners of her lips, making her appear as if she were in her fifties. Not so terribly old, but certainly not the age she should have been.

Genevieve's arms hesitated to wrap around Arianne's fierce hug, but they finally did, resting more about the young queen than truly returning the embrace.

"I am sorry I worried you," she spoke in quiet Gauldish. "I am fine now, but I would like to leave Gauldin and go to Aozora." She said the words quickly, like ripping off a bandaid.

The king hears Genevieve's words and Arianne's reaction. The desperate pleading is what he expects and he looks at the woman, who seems aged well past her years. He can't, won't order her to stay, but he also can't just let her go either. He scoops Voltaire up from where the babe is laying nestled with the foal and then he gets to his feet. He approaches Genevieve and offers her his hand, the other keeping Voltaire clamped to his shoulder.

"Firs I would like to offer my deepest condolences. Second, before we make any decisions I'd like to introduce myself properly. It's wonderful to finally talk to you, Genevieve. Third and finally, I would like you to tell us why you want to go to Aozora. From there we will do whatever we can to help you. I can only imagine the pain you are in right now, and I will do everything in my power to help ease your burden. You are family after all."

Arianne was horrified as she watched her sister turning older and more frail right before her eyes. Frustration boiled! Panic that she was losing Genevieve gripped her heart, and she gripped her sister's arms harshly.

"Genevieve, stop it!" Arianne commanded, her voice raised. "Stop this, stop crucifying yourself! You've done nothing wrong!"

But the white-haired sister wouldn't stop talking about leaving and leaving and leaving! Exasperated and angry and guilty and hurt and so full of regret and frustration, she let go of Genevieve and she moved away from them both, her cheeks red, her blue eyes fiery.

"No, Genevieve. I won't allow you to go. I command you to stay."

Renaux couldn't have hurt her or humiliated more with the words he said. She drew back like she'd been slapped, momentarily lost for words. She was concerned and desperate to keep her sister near and alive and well. She took a sharp breath to keep herself from crying, but her eyes were already shimmering with tears. Not that she planned on falling to pieces, but when she was truly upset and truly angry, she just couldn't seem to stop the reaction.

"No," Arianne battled back. She turned to Genevieve. "You can't go to Aozora. There is war there! And all manner of bandits and strife -- you will be put into danger, Genevieve! You need to stay here, with me. With Voltaire!" She reached out for the white-haired woman again, so frustrated to see the aging spell already working on her once-beautiful sister. "You can't leave me. I need you. You're the only sister I have -- I can't -- I can't just let you slip away, and I'm so, so, so sorry that I might have already lost you. I don't want to lose you again, Genevieve, please!"

Screw Renaux, she didn't have time to be angry at his betrayal, she was about to lose her sister!

Renaux nods in gratitude pleased that Genevieve at least sees the sense in his words. He wished that Arianne could be so understanding, but he knew he was in a great deal trouble. The king swallows a sigh, resigning himself to an unknown period of time in the proverbial dog house. He opens his mouth to make a point, something along the lines of 'See this isn't you losing your sister, it's just her getting set up elsewhere.' However, wiser heads prevail and he closes his mouth. He'd dug his hole and made his point, opening his mouth again might make things worse. Instead, he lifts Voltaire up to his face and rubs his nose against the babes, whispering to the boy.

"At least you're not mad at me."

Skies Above, this was getting more and more difficult. Genevieve had to get away before Arianne convinced her to stay, for Genevieve herself was convinced that if she stayed, she surely would die.

Genevieve gathered Arianne close, hugging her tightly. "I will write you. I will be fine. I love you." She kissed Arianne on her cheek and squeezed her again when she heard Voltaire give a cry behind her, his large blue eyes full of innocent tears for a reason even he djdnt understand. The foal also gave an agitated snort, upset that the baby was upset who was upset because the mother was upset who was upset because her sister was upset.

Somehow, it was still Genevieves fault.

"Go to your child, Arianne." She said, then like a coward she moved quickly away for her bedroom door. It was might fall by now and she wouldn't be leaving now.

But tomorrow. Well.tomorrow was a new day. For her new life.

Arianne stood there, speechless and quietly crying as Genevieve walked away, closing the door to her bedroom behind her, old and decrepit.

And then her husband chastised her a little more and put a crying babe in her arms, and then he, too, walked away from her.

She was left standing and alone in that wide open hallway, tears streaming down her face and her son wailing in her arms, feeling... feeling overwhelmed.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as Voltaire became more and more agitated in her arms, and sniffling loudly, she turned away and to her son. She coped gently at him to get him to quiet, even though quiet tears wouldn't stop sliding down her own face.

The young queen had just watched her sister be carried unconscious to her rooms, three huge gashes in her wrist where the woman had tried to end her life. Then, the young queen had waited for hours out in the hallway because her sisters magic was too harmful to herself and others that were near. Then, while Genevieve finally rested, she had continued to wait while a young knight had tried to save her sisters soul. And finally, after all of this, when Genevieve emerged, she was an old hag, insisting she had to leave... and her husband called Arianne selfish for wanting her suicidal sister to stay near.

The entire train of thought had her pausing in her walk and dropping her face into one hand as she cried a little, her shoulders shaking, alone with just her babe held close in one arm. Sky, Genevieve was all Arianne truly had. Genevieve was the one that had rescued Arianne from herself when she had returned to see Renaux moved on. Genevieve had made Arianne's wedding dress, and had made Arianne feel like she had to keep living and moving on.

But Arianne couldn't do that for Genevieve. And now, Arianne was ordered to let a woman who had just sliced herself open for death to just... move away. To live alone.

Voltaire began to sail again, and Arianne took a deep and steadying breath and continued on her way to his nursery adjacent to the bedroom she shared with Renaux. When she came in, the wet nurse moved to take Voltaire, but Arianne told her not to feed him.

She quickly changed out of her clothes and into her nightgown and robe, her hair completely unbound and her face washed as much as she could. Her eyes were rimmed with red.

Then she went to her son, who was crying for her, and she gathered him to her as she took a seat in the padded rocking chair and she nursed him, gently rocking back and forth, his soft body resting gently against her. Arianne quietly ordered the other maids and nurses to leave and go to sleep.

The queen's sisters actions had been anticipated by Gaspar. By the time her carriage was pulling out of the city another one fell in behind it. Two maid servants, a head servant, and four guards had volunteered to accompany Genevieve to Aozora and manage the estate she would live in.

The head servant would introduce himself as Monsieur Alfred Dumont, a man in his late fifties who'd been working under Gaspar for years. He'd never married and his parents were long dead so the move was an easy thing for him, especially when it was in service of the king. The maids were Antoinette and Clarice Pierre, sisters who were excited at the prospect of seeing more of the world. The guards were young recruits by the names of Jean, Jorge, Paul, and Rinaldo. Thus did Genevieve and her new entourage leave Gauldin.

The king would leave his wife alone for the evening, taking his rest elsewhere in the palace. He'd also avoid her for much of the day, keeping himself in meetings and directing state appointments. Eventually, though he has to concede that he is being a coward, avoiding Arianne for fear of the backlash of his words and choices. Thus with a heavy heart and a great deal of fear he tracks her down in the late afternoon. When he finds her he'd stand before her fidgeting nervously playing with one of his sleeves, for all the world looking like a schoolboy caught in the act. He was a far cry from the man he'd been yesterday when he'd taken command of the situation. Eventually he'd build up the where withal to speak.

"I'm sorry."

The king's plans to apologize had been derailed. Arianne wasn't in their rooms, she wasn't in Voltaire's, she wasn't even in the palace. He found the words she'd written each word on the paper like a knife in his heart. "Coward." He curses himself for his own weakness .

Sky what had he been thinking? That she would be so mad she wouldn't want to see him anyway? Yes, that was what he was afraid of. That she would scream and yell at him and he hadn't wanted to deal with that, had been afraid of it. So he'd avoided her like a child trying to avoid his mother after breaking a vase.

But this wasn't the same situation, this was his wife. His wife who had been hurt grievously, who'd been frightened of losing her sister, who'd been hurt by his words. His wife who'd needed him to be there. Maybe she would have been angry at first, but it wouldn't have lasted. She'd needed his strength and support and he hadn't been there. 

Renaux felt wretched. Worse than wretched he felt like he was no longer the man he thought he was. Or rather he was reminded of the man he was. This was exactly what he did, why he avoided his own family for more than ten years, why he only had a handful of true friends. He was afraid of interpersonal conflict.


Renaux had thought he'd gotten over this weakness with Arianne, but they'd also never had a serious fight. When the stakes had been raised he had hidden just like he always had, so what would he do now? He looks at the paper with her words on it and thinks of going after her. If she'd been mad yesterday today it would be worse he was sure. The thought of confronting that made him quail with anxious fear. But the thought of losing her again because of his cowardice, that terrified him.

Getting to his feet the king looks around for something in her possesions, when he finds it he nods. Getting to his feet he sends for Gaspar, Renaux needed to know where the woman he loved was. Today he'd be doing something most kings never did, he'd be begging.