Who: Sebastian Michaelis (
demon_andbutler), Elena (
wellsuited)
When: Forward dated to the 22nd.
Where: A theater in Anatole
Format: Paragraph
What: The horrible result of Elena winning a certain butler at the date auction.
Warnings: Fantasized violence.
(
Is Opera a Bloodsport? )
When Elena glanced at him, he seemed completely absorbed in the show, opera glasses held up to his eyes. In his peripheral vision, he could see she was looking at him, and she did not look pleased. He'd had no doubt opera would not be her forte. It was an ostentatious and ridiculous form of human expression, but it was the most "proper" activity for a date that he could think of.
He lowered the opera glasses, met her gaze, and grinned smugly.
He certainly was enjoying himself.
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"Oh wow!"
The cry was met with irritated shushes on either side of her. It wasn't what was on stage that excited her though. It was just how clear and close-up the glasses brought it.
They might just come in handy for the back rows of the Arena.
Elena yawned softly and squirmed in her seat in an attempt to get comfortable. How long could something like this go on?
Long enough to rest her eyes, surely.
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He noticed she squirmed like a child and even yawned like one. He would say nothing if she fell asleep. He would simply pick her up and carry her out.
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She could say one thing for opera...it provided the perfect conditions for a much needed nap.
That he managed to pick her up and actually carry her out without waking her was to his credit. Elena wasn't a sound sleeper by any means. She even squirmed in his arms, turning more towards him and fingers curling into what she thought was a pillow.
Huh. Her pillow has a shoulder blade.
Elena's eyes flew open, the fight instinct kicking in instantly. She pushed away from him, sleep still fogging her brain and making unsure of her transporter's identity. She still had a gun on her, she just had to reach it and take aim.
She probably wouldn't pull the trigger once she realized it was just him. Probably.
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"It is a pity you missed the finale," he said. "There was an impressive display of pyrotechnics I thought you might've enjoyed."
He had gotten her out of the opera house and down the block far enough that they'd lost the dispersing crowd. Although there was no one to see her draw a gun on him, plenty had witnessed their exit with her in his arms.
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Her reputation would never be the same.
But then he said something, a single word that made her features soften and her eyebrows raise. And it was obvious that the only way she would know more was to actually talk to him.
"Pyrotechnics? Like...fireworks?" The gun finally lowered, but only after she'd freed herself from his arms.
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"Yes, fireworks." He couldn't really say why he thought she might like such a thing. Perhaps because she was like a chid easily distracted by shiny objects. Her reaction suggested he was correct. "I was surprised the explosions didn't wake you. Are you getting enough sleep on a regular basis?"
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"When you say 'regular'..."
The short answer to his question would be 'no', but Elena shook her head, dismissing it entirely.
"I can't believe I missed fireworks..." She turned and started to walk, the gun still at her side. The weight of it just felt comfortable in her hand, the only familiar thing about her entire outfit. "You know, when I was little, my parents would buy me dolls and I'd trade them for fireworks."
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He wondered what the purpose of telling him about her childhood was. Humans sometimes shared information that perplexed him by having no informational value. Still, the mark of a good butler was convincing the ones he served that everything they said was profound. He was good at that.
"That is unsurprising. Nothing about you suggests you would have been a conventional child." Sebastian had served an unconventional child long enough to know. He glanced at her and smiled. "I do hope you made good use of the fireworks."
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Truth be told, there was no purpose. It was merely because Elena had started talking. And once she starts to talk, she often finds it difficult to stop...regardless of her feelings towards the one she's talking to.
"Yeah?" She looks over at him, both eyebrows raised. Unconventional. She likes the sound of that. It means she wasn't average. The last thing Elena ever wanted was to be, as he'd put it, conventional. "You mean what did I do with them? Simple." She shrugs her shoulders before responding. "I shot the bottle rockets at the other kids until they gave me the doll back."
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Sebastian smirked. "Very resourceful of you."
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Oh well. The evening was winding down. That's all that really mattered, right?
"Anyway, being resourceful is what I do. It makes up for that difference between me and my fantastic sister." The way Elena says 'fantastic'...yeah, she doesn't mean it. "You learn to adapt. But I don't need to explain that to you, right? Being a servant is probably all about that."
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Familial trouble, it sounded like. Resentment toward a favoured sibling. Interesting. "I'm sure there's much you excel at. You have the air of a confident woman." Not unlike Madam Red in that regard, who certainly excelled at a number of things... some of them horrific. "And yes, you are absolutely right. Adaptation and improvisation are a constant in my life."
Especially now, with his master back. When he had just become accustomed to the freedom. Ah well. He was enjoying the switch in the rules, now that their environment was different.
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And while waiting for his response...yes, she'd just soak all that flattery in.
"Wow, you really don't tell lies."
Because everything he just said was the truth...of course.
"What do you excel at? Because you seem pretty confident yourself." To a maddening degree...
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Maybe she's just lying right now.
"It would be a lot to keep up with. Still, aren't there times it's worth the risk? Like...maybe you don't want to give away the key ingredient of your prize winning recipe?" Because really, how big can a butler's secrets be?
She blinks at his question, shaking her head and actually smiling a bit. "No. To be honest, I like hearing about people who have a different kind of life. YOu said something about under-servants though? Does that mean...you're like a boss?" No pun intended.
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