Something Beautiful

[ms_norrington]

While I've no hope of making blackout, here is another offering :) Enjoy!

Myshuno Prompt: Ettie trying to be ladylike and failing peasant007  (I'm not sure if this is what you were looking for with this prompt but it's just what came to mind. hope you like it anyway)
Characters: Ettie Oxley and Fabiola Davies
Notes: Some future spoilage
Word Count: 1034

Comments

[peasant007]

I had once heard a story about Eleanore Roosevelt. She was hosting tea at the White House and one of her guests had accidentally dropped one of the tea cups (IIRC it was one of those priceless cups that a former president had used). Without missing a beat, Eleanore dropped her cup on the floor (breaking it) and then smiled at her guest saying, "Those cups are so slippery and delicate." I don't know if it's a true story, but from what I recall, she was always referred to as a gracious person with that story as the example.

My point is that Bee totally reminded me of that story. Her graciousness seemed to come a bit more naturally than her mother's (Lora is her mother, right?) I like Lora, but she is a lot more like how Mary was in my story: acting a certain way because it was expected of her and, by golly, everything will be just so no matter what.

I could feel Ettie's awkwardness, though. I've been around people like Bee where I just feel clumsy and awkward while they are so perfect (thankfully that person was like Bee as well).

Awesome piece :)

[ms_norrington]

I'm so glad you liked it. I wanted to write about Ettie hosting her own tea but it's just not something she would ever do. She's tomboy thru n thru with only small inklings for the more feminine pleasures in life. She's a late bloomer just discovering her shortcomings when compared to the other young ladies flocking around her longtime pal Barry. So I just saw her having to face the very embodiment of ladyship in Bee as the most awkward reminder of what she's incapable of being when at this time in her life it's suddenly begun to matter.

Yes Lora is Bee's mother. Lora was an orphan in a workhouse before coming to the Norringtons. And while they loved her, she and her siblings were allowed to run practically wild. So she's had to acquire a ladylike essence from books and observation. It does seem forced because she has a goal in mind. To be greater than her beginnings. For her it's like going down a checklist of acceptable behavior in every situation. A practiced behavior always shows. She's still quite rough around the edges.

Bee, on the other hand, was born and bred into this environment. It's been drilled into her how to behave and speak since toddler-hood. She's gone to the private schools and grown up among the upper crust of society. Her behavior is a natural extension of herself. She doesn't need to try; she simply is.

Again, thanks for reading :D