Strawberry Banana 10/Black Raspberry 15/Pralines and Cream 28
Author: miameirohara
Challenge: Strawberry Banana 10) dress up, Black Raspberry 15) two is company, three’s a crowd, Pralines and Cream 28) change of pace
Extra: none
Rated: G
Word Count: 1145
Story Title: The Truth of the Matter Is…
Story: Regalia Myth
Summary: In which Valencienne raves, Francesca broods, and Grigori is adorable.
Author's Note: Haha, my first piece over a thousand words, yay~! Unbeta’d. I suck at titles.
also inspired by the moments100 prompt, 074: understand.
Grigori gave a final twirl before finishing in a graceful and playful pose. He was a sight that had to be seen; awash in a dress of pink and an apron and frills of white, he looked entirely the part of the sweet, innocent child playing pretend.
“So, what do you girls think of this one?” He asked of Valencienne and Francesca, who sat waiting on his bed to appraise each new outfit he concocted. Valencienne, always the first with a critical word, shook her head in exasperation.
“No, no, no! That‘s not going to work at all!” she replied, jumping up. “You keep forgetting that we’re not here to watch you put on a fashion show, we’re here to help Francesca pick out a costume!” Valencienne pointed back to Francesca, who had remained in her spot on the bed.
Grigori gave a sniffle and pouted, his eyes trembling as if hurt. “But I was just trying to show you how cute she would look in it. You really don’t like it?”
“No, I don’t, now take that silly mess of a pink explosion off!” Valencienne’s head was already beginning to throb with the irritation she always felt around Grigori. “And quit copying the color of Francesca’s hair and eyes. You’re still you even glamoured, so anything you show us doesn’t count!”
Grigori, still pouting, ran his fingers through his hair returning it from a duplicate of Francesca’s own blue hair to his favorite shade of purple. After blinking his red eyes back to purple, he sighed and turned away to face the clothing rack that had been wheeled into his bedroom, beginning to undress. “Really, Valencienne-chan, if you’re going to shoot down everything I try to show to Francesca-san, why did you invite me along and beg for my help in the first place?”
Valencienne clenched her teeth. “I didn’t beg or invite you to come along, you invited yourself! I was going to ask Kaiser instead but she’s busy today! If she hadn’t recommended you, you wouldn’t be here right now,” she rubbed a temple before continuing, “giving me the migraine of a lifetime!”
“Do you think the woodland nymph outfit or the French maid outfit would be better, then?” asked Grigori, obviously not paying attention to a word Valencienne said. He held the two outfits before himself for her to see, causing Valencienne to growl and snap.
“ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME, YOU LITTLE -- ?!”
“I wonder why,” Francesca interrupted, finally speaking up from her place on the bed. “I wonder why Grandmother would even ask me to pick out a costume to wear. She knows that I don’t like dressing up or going to parties at all.”
“Its not just for you,” Valencienne emphasized. She was still annoyed with Grigori, who had returned to examining the racked outfits, humming one of his bubblegum pop tunes. “Your grandmother is hosting a party at Kaguya Inn and she wants you to be there, simple as that.”
“I know that, but she knows I usually stay in my suite and wait for it all to blow over. Why pick this time to even ask me to come along when she knows I wouldn’t want to?”
She went on when neither Valencienne or Grigori responded. “Sometimes…I think Grandmother is unhappy with me period. I can feel it, plain as day. We could just be sitting together, discussing the things I did in school today or what I plan to do over the weekend, and suddenly I just feel the sadness drifting off of her in waves.” Francesca sighed and plopped back on the bed, resting her hands behind her head. “It’s a sinking, drowning, and depressing feeling. Sometimes I think that she’s remembering my mother and wishes that it was her she was talking to instead of me.”
Valencienne shrugged. “That would follow. My mother used to know your mother and she said that Francine was always going from one party to the next with her girlfriends, going out with a new guy every week, and never out of the center of attention. And look at you,” Valencienne added, sitting down on the bed again. “You’re always on the computer, hiding out in your room or causing some kind of trouble with the teachers at school, and dressed in the dullest and ragged of clothes. Who wouldn’t want a livelier, happier person around them once in a while?”
Francesca only raised an eyebrow and didn’t respond to Valencienne’s question, knowing that she hadn’t meant to be so insulting. Grigori, however, gave a ring of laughter that was muffled from his place deep within the clothing rack. “Valencienne-chan, you can be the most old fashioned, sensible of creatures even without a sense of imagination in style or emotions.”
“And what do you mean by that?!” Valencienne countered, on the offensive once more.
“Isn’t it obvious? Sure, Francesca-san can be dreary and uninspiring and monotonous at times,” Francesca raised both eyebrows at this but let Grigori continue. “But that isn’t why Aisuza-san is upset at all. She’s worried that Francesca-san isn’t happy with herself. When a person wants to withdraw from their own self, they withdraw from the world altogether. And if Francesca-san isn’t happy, Aisuza-san cannot be comforted and happy in her own mind.” He reemerged from the depth of fabrics. “That’s all there is to it, really.”
A moment or so passed before any spoke again; Francesca pondering over Grigori’s analysis, Grigori straightening the newest costume on his person, and Valencienne silently fuming over why she hadn’t thought of it that way first. At last, Francesca propped herself up on her elbows.
“Alright, I’ll give it a go for Grandmother but only this one time.” She grabbed the nearest shimmery piece of cloth. “Grandmother is already sick, even without having to worry over me.”
“Good, because I found my costume for the party…TADA~!” Grigori blew a kiss at both girls, dressed as a cowgirl, complete with leather vest, miniskirt, and boots. He’d glamoured his hair and eyes brown to match.
“Didn’t I say that we weren’t looking for a costume for you?!”
“Oh, Valencienne-chan, don’t fret! I founded the cutest little costume for you to wear to match!” He presented her with a black and white spotted suit and pair of horns, beaming. “You would embody the glorious attributes of the bovine so nicely!”
“AND WHAT ABOUT ME WOULD MAKE YOU EVEN THINK OF A COW?!”
Francesca watched Valencienne fly off the bed and argue with a newly inspired Grigori. She shrugged and absently fiddled with the sequined material in her hands, finally noticing it was a blue fairy tutu, and sighed.
Whatever else is going on, I won’t upset Grandmother, she thought. I have enough trouble with the emotions of strangers weighing me down without making someone I actually like depressed.
Challenge: Strawberry Banana 10) dress up, Black Raspberry 15) two is company, three’s a crowd, Pralines and Cream 28) change of pace
Extra: none
Rated: G
Word Count: 1145
Story Title: The Truth of the Matter Is…
Story: Regalia Myth
Summary: In which Valencienne raves, Francesca broods, and Grigori is adorable.
Author's Note: Haha, my first piece over a thousand words, yay~! Unbeta’d. I suck at titles.
also inspired by the moments100 prompt, 074: understand.
Grigori gave a final twirl before finishing in a graceful and playful pose. He was a sight that had to be seen; awash in a dress of pink and an apron and frills of white, he looked entirely the part of the sweet, innocent child playing pretend.
“So, what do you girls think of this one?” He asked of Valencienne and Francesca, who sat waiting on his bed to appraise each new outfit he concocted. Valencienne, always the first with a critical word, shook her head in exasperation.
“No, no, no! That‘s not going to work at all!” she replied, jumping up. “You keep forgetting that we’re not here to watch you put on a fashion show, we’re here to help Francesca pick out a costume!” Valencienne pointed back to Francesca, who had remained in her spot on the bed.
Grigori gave a sniffle and pouted, his eyes trembling as if hurt. “But I was just trying to show you how cute she would look in it. You really don’t like it?”
“No, I don’t, now take that silly mess of a pink explosion off!” Valencienne’s head was already beginning to throb with the irritation she always felt around Grigori. “And quit copying the color of Francesca’s hair and eyes. You’re still you even glamoured, so anything you show us doesn’t count!”
Grigori, still pouting, ran his fingers through his hair returning it from a duplicate of Francesca’s own blue hair to his favorite shade of purple. After blinking his red eyes back to purple, he sighed and turned away to face the clothing rack that had been wheeled into his bedroom, beginning to undress. “Really, Valencienne-chan, if you’re going to shoot down everything I try to show to Francesca-san, why did you invite me along and beg for my help in the first place?”
Valencienne clenched her teeth. “I didn’t beg or invite you to come along, you invited yourself! I was going to ask Kaiser instead but she’s busy today! If she hadn’t recommended you, you wouldn’t be here right now,” she rubbed a temple before continuing, “giving me the migraine of a lifetime!”
“Do you think the woodland nymph outfit or the French maid outfit would be better, then?” asked Grigori, obviously not paying attention to a word Valencienne said. He held the two outfits before himself for her to see, causing Valencienne to growl and snap.
“ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME, YOU LITTLE -- ?!”
“I wonder why,” Francesca interrupted, finally speaking up from her place on the bed. “I wonder why Grandmother would even ask me to pick out a costume to wear. She knows that I don’t like dressing up or going to parties at all.”
“Its not just for you,” Valencienne emphasized. She was still annoyed with Grigori, who had returned to examining the racked outfits, humming one of his bubblegum pop tunes. “Your grandmother is hosting a party at Kaguya Inn and she wants you to be there, simple as that.”
“I know that, but she knows I usually stay in my suite and wait for it all to blow over. Why pick this time to even ask me to come along when she knows I wouldn’t want to?”
She went on when neither Valencienne or Grigori responded. “Sometimes…I think Grandmother is unhappy with me period. I can feel it, plain as day. We could just be sitting together, discussing the things I did in school today or what I plan to do over the weekend, and suddenly I just feel the sadness drifting off of her in waves.” Francesca sighed and plopped back on the bed, resting her hands behind her head. “It’s a sinking, drowning, and depressing feeling. Sometimes I think that she’s remembering my mother and wishes that it was her she was talking to instead of me.”
Valencienne shrugged. “That would follow. My mother used to know your mother and she said that Francine was always going from one party to the next with her girlfriends, going out with a new guy every week, and never out of the center of attention. And look at you,” Valencienne added, sitting down on the bed again. “You’re always on the computer, hiding out in your room or causing some kind of trouble with the teachers at school, and dressed in the dullest and ragged of clothes. Who wouldn’t want a livelier, happier person around them once in a while?”
Francesca only raised an eyebrow and didn’t respond to Valencienne’s question, knowing that she hadn’t meant to be so insulting. Grigori, however, gave a ring of laughter that was muffled from his place deep within the clothing rack. “Valencienne-chan, you can be the most old fashioned, sensible of creatures even without a sense of imagination in style or emotions.”
“And what do you mean by that?!” Valencienne countered, on the offensive once more.
“Isn’t it obvious? Sure, Francesca-san can be dreary and uninspiring and monotonous at times,” Francesca raised both eyebrows at this but let Grigori continue. “But that isn’t why Aisuza-san is upset at all. She’s worried that Francesca-san isn’t happy with herself. When a person wants to withdraw from their own self, they withdraw from the world altogether. And if Francesca-san isn’t happy, Aisuza-san cannot be comforted and happy in her own mind.” He reemerged from the depth of fabrics. “That’s all there is to it, really.”
A moment or so passed before any spoke again; Francesca pondering over Grigori’s analysis, Grigori straightening the newest costume on his person, and Valencienne silently fuming over why she hadn’t thought of it that way first. At last, Francesca propped herself up on her elbows.
“Alright, I’ll give it a go for Grandmother but only this one time.” She grabbed the nearest shimmery piece of cloth. “Grandmother is already sick, even without having to worry over me.”
“Good, because I found my costume for the party…TADA~!” Grigori blew a kiss at both girls, dressed as a cowgirl, complete with leather vest, miniskirt, and boots. He’d glamoured his hair and eyes brown to match.
“Didn’t I say that we weren’t looking for a costume for you?!”
“Oh, Valencienne-chan, don’t fret! I founded the cutest little costume for you to wear to match!” He presented her with a black and white spotted suit and pair of horns, beaming. “You would embody the glorious attributes of the bovine so nicely!”
“AND WHAT ABOUT ME WOULD MAKE YOU EVEN THINK OF A COW?!”
Francesca watched Valencienne fly off the bed and argue with a newly inspired Grigori. She shrugged and absently fiddled with the sequined material in her hands, finally noticing it was a blue fairy tutu, and sighed.
Whatever else is going on, I won’t upset Grandmother, she thought. I have enough trouble with the emotions of strangers weighing me down without making someone I actually like depressed.