Prose log with Euram
Who: Euram (
falenas_fop ) and Jewel (shimmeringjewel )
When: Today!
Where: Inside the manor, outside the manor, Euram's room...all over!
What: Jewel takes it upon herself to make Euram have the best birthday EVER! But not everything goes quite as planned.
If Jewel could normally be described as having her head in the clouds, today she was halfway to the moon. She stood waiting at the stairwell for Euram to meet her, toying with a small black velvet box that she held not-so-discreetly behind her back. When she caught sight of him, it took more self control than she thought she even had to stand still and wait for him.. She didn't want to seem somehow unladylike in her eagerness. Yet when he was only a few steps away, she couldn't resist, and sprang forward to kiss him on the cheek.
"Happy birthday, Euram!"
Euram was in a far better mood than he had been this time last year. He may have still been feeling homesick, but it was easier to ignore this year since he had people who actually cared. It was hard even to feel homesick at seeing one of those people, run towards him and more surprisingly give him a kiss. So forward a gesture was odd to him, but it didn’t stop his smile from widening at it.
“Why miss Jewel, one might almost believe it to be your birthday with how high-spirited you are. Though by that same thought it could be said of everyday.”
"Well, I do always try to make the best of every day. Even if it can be hard sometimes..." She took a step or two back, trying to right what was undoubtedly her being improper. She still had her hands behind her back though, and was rocking back and forth from her heels to her toes as she smiled up at him. "I just want today to be wonderful for you, is all, and I'm determined to make that happen."
Euram had been happy enough that he hardly noticed the impropriety, and it was excusable. After all, Jewel wasn’t fortunate enough to be trained as well as he, so it was fine for her to make these mistakes…at least that’s what he was telling himself. “It is already a far better day than most, with such a gem before me,” He made as if to reach for her hand as he usually would, but as it was behind her back he was unable to and so changed a bit awkwardly into a bow. “Now…I believe there were plans?”
"Oh of course!" She nodded, but she didn't budge from where she was standing. "Um...Maybe I can give you this now though?" She finally brought the box out from behind her back and held it out to him. "I'm sorry, I'm kind of impatient today, for some reason." She bit her lip as he took the box. "It's....not quite as good as I had hoped, but I didn't really have a lot of time. I just got lucky that they had this came into the trade shop recently." (Here ya go!)
As soon as the box was presented it was in Euram’s hands. He’d had a whole script ready of how he didn’t need anything and ho hum, but really as soon as he saw he had a present he entered child mode, giddy to see what new shiny things he had. He was not at all disappointed when he pulled out the beautiful cufflink and cravat pin matching set. “Oh…my…it’s….” he stared at them checking to see if the stones were real, THEY WERE. “MAGNIFICENT!” he shouted, loud enough for anyone in nearby rooms to hear it. “I surely have not seen such a perfect cut since my father’s jewelry in Falena…oh…trust my Jewel to know jewels.”
Jewel grinned from ear to ear at the positive, however delayed reaction. Luckily, in her naivety she had misinterpreted his scrutinizing the gift for some kind of shock. It was also lucky that the shop trader hadn't ripped her off. She honestly didn't know much about jewels, and simply trusted that the high price meant it was of good quality.
"I'm so happy you like it." She clapped her hands together in excitement.
“Of course, it is quite simple, but in that there can be a sort of elegance,” Euram replied, in what he thought was a compliment. He looked about for a shiny surface, and once found in a nearby vase, pinned his new accessories into place and then preen. This day was shaping up to perhaps even meet his expectation.
She really couldn't help but giggle as Euram checked out his reflection (but she also couldn't blame him). She walked up to where he was admiring himself, and sort of peeked around him. "Now that we have established how dashing you are....about those plans?"
Euram spotted the addition to his reflection out of the corner of his eye, but didn’t really pay any attention until she spoke. His smile only widened at being pandered to like that, ready and willing to soak up any compliments he could get. “If only your gift of constant radiance were capable for us all,” he said, turning around and brushing the edge of her hair lightly with the back of his hand. “But it would have not been fair to your generous gift, if it were applied incorrectly. But yes…what else have you planned?”
As his hand lowered from the side of her head, she took gentle hold of it with her own.
"I made us reservations to have a nice meal on the patio at the cafe. I asked to make sure that no one else would be able to bother us." She smiled, giving the hand a light squeeze.
“Splendid!” Euram exclaimed, on cloud nine being the center of attention and pampered. He was having such fun already, that he easily slipped into the role of prince charming. The movement wasn’t nearly as dashing as he saw it is his head, but he managed to release Jewel’s hand in an almost fluid motion and bring his arm up to be taken with minimal fumbling. “Let us be off, beautiful lady.”
"Why thank you, kind sir." She did a partial curtsy and took his arm, then they headed towards the door. Though as he loosened his grip on her arm to open the door for her, for the first time, Jewel's brilliant smile faded to a frown. Another one of the notorious summer showers had hit...precisely the thing Euram had voiced he didn't want. Yet she puffed out her cheeks in determination. Euram was GOING to have a good birthday if it killed her!
"Drat..." he said. "Well...you could go drop off the box in your room, and we could wait a little bit and see if it clears up~?" Options. There were always options.
The grin that had been plastered on Euram’s face from being able to play this part fell the second a raindrop hit the velvet on his sleeve. He pulled his hand back inside as though it were acid and started in horror as the light rain turned into a downpour almost instantly as summer storms were wont to do.
“But..Oh..it..” Euram sputtered through several emotions, and finally ended on a tantrum. “It’s not fair!” he pouted, stomping a foot, the prince façade gone instantly. “I hate this place. Hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it!” He could vaguely hear Jewel’s calm voice, but he was too busy sulking to really take her suggestions in.
Seeing that Euram didn't seem to notice her at all, and that he had quickly fallen into a typical tantrum as he often did when everything didn't go his way, Jewel had to think fast. This was the day it was supposed to go his way for once! She grabbed tight to his arm and pulled him back from the door, closing it before standing in front of him. She stood tall on her toes, steadying herself with a hand on each of his shoulders (though partially to keep him from flailing) and kissed him on the forehead.
"Come on. The day isn't over yet. There's stilla chance." And without re-explaining, she grabbed a firm hold of his arm again, and began to drag him off to his own room.
Jewel’s intervention came not a moment too soon, and was exactly what was necessary to keep the tantrum from going into full force; physically stopping him and then a distraction to pull his mind in a different direction. He deflated at the kiss to his forehead, still pouting sullenly as he started being dragged. “But…what of the café?” he questioned as he noted they were going in the opposite direction.
As she pulled him along, up the stairs and through corridors her grip on his arm never loosened a bit.
"We'll still go, of course. Just...wait a bit. It's sure to clear up, and if it doesn't we'll have to make due...change the plans a bit."
With that, she found herself in front of his room...but didn't feel quite right letting herself in. So she just looked to him with a smile and tilted her head to the side.
Euram was getting used to being dragged about. No one would have dared in Falena, but everyone seemed to think it was ok here. He didn’t mind or even think about it when someone he trusted was doing the pulling however, instead he was just curious about what Jewel was planning. “Change to wh…?” he started to ask, and then trailed off as he realized where they were.
He may not have known exactly what Jewel was planning, but his mind certainly jumped to some nice conclusions. Conclusions which caused an interesting reaction of what appeared to be a mild coughing fit, and wild eyes and he tried to determine if he were dreaming or not.
Jewel's eyes sort of narrowed a bit, and her smiled melted to a look of curiosity at Euram's reaction, and pointed lack of actually opening the door. Though in an instant, her eyes went wide and a smile stuck her face again, looking totally the opposite as she had before. 'That's what he's thinking?' She bit her lip to hold back a giggle, and donned a rather mischievous look. Now, the look was not for the reason it would surely be perceived. But it worked both ways, all the same.
Once she figured he wasn't able to be so forward as to even open the door, she did so herself, and dragged him the rest of the way in.
Euram would have gotten to the door eventually; he just needed longer than most to sort things out when he actually decided to think first. It was much easier when he got into that mode for others to take the lead, as he was easily pliable. He readily followed after Jewel, misunderstanding her look and still stuck in pre-teen mind-fog despite his real age. Once they were in the room and the door was closed he became a bit more forward, slipping his arm out of her grip and took her hand instead, looking at her with what he thought was a debonair smile.
A bit surprised at the response, Jewel fought back the feeling that threatened to make her blush. She hadn't expected him to go so easily back into this mode. Nonetheless, she shrugged internally going with an 'oh well' approach. Though she didn't mind having her hand held, she had other plans. She extracted her hand, and used both, very carefully, to extract the shiny new pin from his cravat, before looking up at him through her eyelashes, and retrieving the small velvet box from his other hand and replacing it inside. She then took the box and walked across the room to the vanity, placing it daintily next to some...earrings with pigs on them? She shook her head and decided to put it out of her mind. Forever.
Euram stood frozen as Jewel went about her work on his cravat. Now that the initial shock was wearing off, and it was becoming more apparent this was not in fact a dream. If it had been a dream, there wouldn’t have been any rain on his birthday to begin with. “Gemstone…” he started, feeling rather unsure of himself, and not enjoying flip flopping back and forth between emotions. He coughed once, before continuing a fake smile of confidence on his face. “I..didn’t think you would wish to remove such a fine gift before it could be well displayed. Unless perhaps you did not enjoy how it looked…”
Now that was more like what she expected of him, and it would make things easier in the long run. She returned to her spot in front of him, and laid a single finger on top of his lips with a small "Shhhh" sound. Then she went to work loosening the tie to his cape, wrapping her arms around him once it was free, to pull it off.
Jewel was not helping Euram’s unease with her silence. His breath caught in his throat at silencing touch. The unease increased as she continued to undress him, and finally he was able to move and grasped both of her arms before she could completely remove his cape. “Miss Jewel,” he said, distancing the situation with a more formal name. “I cannot notice that you are being most silent. Is everything alright?”
Where she had previously been attempting to avoid eye contact, when Euram grabbed her, she had no choice. With the most innocent, yet at the same time not at all innocent voice she could muster, she looked into his eyes with a rather ambiguous smile and replied. "Never better~"
With that, she leaned slowly into his chest and placed a small kiss on his jaw line.
Though finally, she broke down into a fit of giggles. She really couldn't keep this ruse up, and buried her face in Euram's chest. When she got a grip, she backed up a bit and smiled at him, this time decidedly more honesty in her innocence.
"I just wanted to get your nice clothes off, so when we have to run through the rain to get to the cafe, they won't get ruined."
Euram’s mind had been flying back and forth for since they were in the hallway, and took yet another dramatic lurch when Jewel started laughing, in his opinion, out of nowhere. He let go of her arms as she fell on his chest, and just stood there until things started making sense again. Which they did when Jewel finally explained what she was doing, it just wasn’t something he was expecting. “…When WHAT?!”
"Well!" She said, straightening up, "I wasn't about to just up and cancel our plans. And I wasn't going to let your beautiful clothes get ruined either so...it seemed like the logical choice." She took a hold of both of his hands.
“I’M NOT GOING OUT THERE IN THAT!” Euram exclaimed, with a lack of his normal poetic speech at the sheer shock of the suggestion, but mostly from the embarrassment the past few moments had caused him. “What a…It is a most Illogical choice!”
"Well if it's that or sit in here and mope I think it's a good choice. Are you honestly afraid of a little water? Heavens knows you take your time in the baths." She said the last bit with a little chuckled tacked onto the end. And again she attempted to free Euram of the cape.
Euram was not nearly as amused as she was, especially since he was the butt of the jokes. Three in a row even! “I most certainly am not!” he protested, even as Jewel managed to get the cape away from him. “It is…how can you suggest such a thing?! Why we will become horridly ill! Ill enough to die!”
Okay. Now he was being a mite childish. Unfortunately for him, Euram's hysterics were only working against him, making Jewel feel like this was all the more necessary. Jewel could think of any number of retorts, but one stood out in mind the best.
"Now Euram...I work in the infirmary. Don't you think I'd know what would and wouldn't make us sick? And even if perchance that did happen, don't you think I could take care of it?"
Jewel’s logic was no helping the situation any. “That is quite besides the point!” Euram exclaimed, not saying anything about what the point may actually be, as he didn’t know himself. “You cannot..it is…improper! This entire experience! I will not allow it any further!”
Jewel simply crossed her arms, taking very little heed to Euram's protests. She twisted up her face in a disapproving look, trying to think of how to get him to go along with this. She was convinced that he would have fun, once he got over his fear of melting in the rain...or whatever it really was.
"I suppose I could eat your birthday meal by myself...but I think that would be far more improper. So. You're coming with me."
With that she stepped up, and grabbed hold of his arm, pulling him back out the door.
“Hey..hey!” Euram protested as he was dragged out the door by the stronger Jewel. “Would it not be easier if neither of us did?” The cape at least was left on the floor of his room as they left. He wasn’t afraid he would melt he was just…afraid! It was raining outside, you don’t go outside when it’s raining! It’s just not done.
Well this was easy enough. Jewel felt a little odd about dragging him back out there, for a number of reasons. One, she didn't expect it to be quite this easy TO drag him. Two...she felt like she should feel worse about this than she actually did, leaving a sour taste in her mouth...though sour like lemonade. Once at the door, she stopped, still keeping a firm hold on him.
"You sure you want to keep your coat on?"
Euram did try to make it difficult for her, but he was having a difficult time finding a place to dig in his heels with her pace. “Gem…” he complained in what sounded close to a whimper. When they finally stopped, he didn’t pull away but did turn a pathetic face to look at her imploringly. “If I do, do I still have to go outside?”
Jewel found it difficult to keep her resolve when he sounded so helpless. She just kept telling herself that this was for his own good. Really, she wasn't sure why it was such a big deal..it was only water!
"I'm afraid so, my sweet prince." With the one hand still clinging tightly to his arm, she stroked his cheek softly with the other.
Euram was noticing his avenues of escape diminishing to nothing. The brush against his cheek sealed the deal, and he completely deflated. “You are a cruel woman…” he complained, but started to remove his coat.
"Me? Cruel? I could have dragged you out into the rain still wearing it, couldn't I?" She stood on her toes and kissed his forehead much like she had earlier. "I promise if you don't end up looking back on today fondly...you can blame me forever!" She looked up at him with a look so innocent, one might entirely forget what she was really doing. But not for long...as she grabbed hold of his hand this time, and burst through the door into the rain, giggling all the while.
“Oh I shall!” Euram said, though it lacked a great deal of venom in part due to the kiss. He just managed to shuck off the coat before he was forcibly dragged outside into the pouring rain. He had never been out in the rain if he could avoid it, the longest had been running from the base of Rainwall up to the mansion and it was something he hadn’t enjoyed or wanted to do again. “Ah!” he exclaimed, flinching from the rain in vain.
It was indeed pouring, as it didn't take them long to figure out. Jewel was soaked to the bone in just a few seconds of running, leading her to question why they were running at all. So she slowed down to a mere walk, still clinging onto Euram's hand. It gave her the opportunity to look at him now, looking a bit like a cat who'd just been tossed into a lake. Still...it was a cute look for him. And she certainly didn't mind looking at the thin white fabric beginning to cling to his chest.
Euram’s instinct was to run the entire way, not really caring that once he was completely soaked he might as well just go with it. However, he was determined to maintain some form of decorum, as it was the only thing keeping him from completely freaking out. The wisps of hair around his face were stuck to his cheeks in a matter of moments, and his long ponytail would take quite a few squeezes to get all the water out. It was a good thing the layers of velvet had been taken off as they would have easily been destroyed by all the water. “Is this what you had in mind?” he asked, voice just a bit shaky.
Jewel stopped all together as he spoke, turning towards him. She tried to push a piece of wet hair that was sticking to his face behind an ear, to get a better look at him. "No...this certainly wasn't in my plans," she said with a small shiver "...But...I really try to see the best in every situation." With that, she leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "You should really try it some time."
“You are an incredibly odd person, Gemstone,” Euram said, unable to get as mad as he’d like when she kept distracting him with those kisses. “Well, now that we are soaked beyond recognition,” he started rubbing his arms from the cold, hoping she would complete the sentence with a suggestion of what came next.
"Oh! Right...hehe." She grabbed hold of his hand again, and resumed walking. But for the slightest moment, she had forgotten where they were going. So again, she stopped. This time though...she became distracted. By what exactly, she couldn't say. Maybe it was just the rain...or maybe she was just being her normal head in the clouds self. Whatever it was, she found herself again standing facing Euram...and again pulling herself a bit higher on her toes...and again kissing him. But this time, it was different. She took her time, put a hand on his chest, and kept her eyes closed...snuggling in closer to him as they both shivered in the rain.
Euram was getting very confused. This entire experience completely out of his normal realm. “What is…” he said as he found himself facing Jewel again, but was cut off as she kissed him. He was soaked, he was cold, but that wouldn’t stop him from taking whatever comfort was offered to him. He brought his hands up, lightly caressing her arms. The clammy wet feeling of her skin from the rain was new, but…not unpleasant. The contrast between warmth from her body and the wet chill from the rain was…interesting. Interesting enough for him to pull her closer and deepen the contact as well as he knew how.
She wasn't sure how or when her lips parted...but she was sure that her cheeks were pink. Still, she leaned forward into Euram, now clinging with a fist to a bit of fabric that moments before had been clinging just as hard to his skin. Finally, she pulled back slightly, breathing, though not letting go. "I...s-sorry." Yeah...she was blushing alright. "I guess I just got...a little carried away."
One of the benefits of not thinking things through, meant that he didn’t blush until after Jewel had pulled away. He pulled away and coughed into a hand. “Indeed…” he agreed, realizing that he had gotten carried away as well. That was…most ungentlemanly. He stayed there trying to catch his breath, almost grateful that the rain blocked the sound. “This.. This could not have been done inside?” he asked, before breaking into a chuckle.
She scratched the back of her head, half avoiding eye contact. "That probably would have made more sense...But like I said...it's not like I planned it to go like this." She finally stopped avoiding eye contact. "But...I'm not complaining." She reached down and took his hand again. "We should probably get out of the rain now..."
“Now you wish to not be in the rain?” Euram said, looking at her confused. “If we had done that from the start…” He just broke off, trying to figure out exactly what was going on, and not having much luck at all. “You are a very odd woman, Gemstone,” he said finally, just shaking his head.
She giggled. "I just meant that we should go have our meal. Unless you've finally grown to like the rain? We can stand here all day if you want, but I'm getting kind of hungry." She poked at him playfully.
“Most certainly not!” Euram exclaimed, whether he thought it wasn’t so bad now or not. “We are going to make a dreadful mess of the café. We must have an excuse!”
Well...he did have a point. But for some reasons Jewel wasn't worried about that (or anything, really) right now. Instead she clung to his arm and began walking again. "I think I'll leave that up to you."
falenas_fop ) and Jewel (shimmeringjewel )
When: Today!
Where: Inside the manor, outside the manor, Euram's room...all over!
What: Jewel takes it upon herself to make Euram have the best birthday EVER! But not everything goes quite as planned.
If Jewel could normally be described as having her head in the clouds, today she was halfway to the moon. She stood waiting at the stairwell for Euram to meet her, toying with a small black velvet box that she held not-so-discreetly behind her back. When she caught sight of him, it took more self control than she thought she even had to stand still and wait for him.. She didn't want to seem somehow unladylike in her eagerness. Yet when he was only a few steps away, she couldn't resist, and sprang forward to kiss him on the cheek.
"Happy birthday, Euram!"
Euram was in a far better mood than he had been this time last year. He may have still been feeling homesick, but it was easier to ignore this year since he had people who actually cared. It was hard even to feel homesick at seeing one of those people, run towards him and more surprisingly give him a kiss. So forward a gesture was odd to him, but it didn’t stop his smile from widening at it.
“Why miss Jewel, one might almost believe it to be your birthday with how high-spirited you are. Though by that same thought it could be said of everyday.”
"Well, I do always try to make the best of every day. Even if it can be hard sometimes..." She took a step or two back, trying to right what was undoubtedly her being improper. She still had her hands behind her back though, and was rocking back and forth from her heels to her toes as she smiled up at him. "I just want today to be wonderful for you, is all, and I'm determined to make that happen."
Euram had been happy enough that he hardly noticed the impropriety, and it was excusable. After all, Jewel wasn’t fortunate enough to be trained as well as he, so it was fine for her to make these mistakes…at least that’s what he was telling himself. “It is already a far better day than most, with such a gem before me,” He made as if to reach for her hand as he usually would, but as it was behind her back he was unable to and so changed a bit awkwardly into a bow. “Now…I believe there were plans?”
"Oh of course!" She nodded, but she didn't budge from where she was standing. "Um...Maybe I can give you this now though?" She finally brought the box out from behind her back and held it out to him. "I'm sorry, I'm kind of impatient today, for some reason." She bit her lip as he took the box. "It's....not quite as good as I had hoped, but I didn't really have a lot of time. I just got lucky that they had this came into the trade shop recently." (Here ya go!)
As soon as the box was presented it was in Euram’s hands. He’d had a whole script ready of how he didn’t need anything and ho hum, but really as soon as he saw he had a present he entered child mode, giddy to see what new shiny things he had. He was not at all disappointed when he pulled out the beautiful cufflink and cravat pin matching set. “Oh…my…it’s….” he stared at them checking to see if the stones were real, THEY WERE. “MAGNIFICENT!” he shouted, loud enough for anyone in nearby rooms to hear it. “I surely have not seen such a perfect cut since my father’s jewelry in Falena…oh…trust my Jewel to know jewels.”
Jewel grinned from ear to ear at the positive, however delayed reaction. Luckily, in her naivety she had misinterpreted his scrutinizing the gift for some kind of shock. It was also lucky that the shop trader hadn't ripped her off. She honestly didn't know much about jewels, and simply trusted that the high price meant it was of good quality.
"I'm so happy you like it." She clapped her hands together in excitement.
“Of course, it is quite simple, but in that there can be a sort of elegance,” Euram replied, in what he thought was a compliment. He looked about for a shiny surface, and once found in a nearby vase, pinned his new accessories into place and then preen. This day was shaping up to perhaps even meet his expectation.
She really couldn't help but giggle as Euram checked out his reflection (but she also couldn't blame him). She walked up to where he was admiring himself, and sort of peeked around him. "Now that we have established how dashing you are....about those plans?"
Euram spotted the addition to his reflection out of the corner of his eye, but didn’t really pay any attention until she spoke. His smile only widened at being pandered to like that, ready and willing to soak up any compliments he could get. “If only your gift of constant radiance were capable for us all,” he said, turning around and brushing the edge of her hair lightly with the back of his hand. “But it would have not been fair to your generous gift, if it were applied incorrectly. But yes…what else have you planned?”
As his hand lowered from the side of her head, she took gentle hold of it with her own.
"I made us reservations to have a nice meal on the patio at the cafe. I asked to make sure that no one else would be able to bother us." She smiled, giving the hand a light squeeze.
“Splendid!” Euram exclaimed, on cloud nine being the center of attention and pampered. He was having such fun already, that he easily slipped into the role of prince charming. The movement wasn’t nearly as dashing as he saw it is his head, but he managed to release Jewel’s hand in an almost fluid motion and bring his arm up to be taken with minimal fumbling. “Let us be off, beautiful lady.”
"Why thank you, kind sir." She did a partial curtsy and took his arm, then they headed towards the door. Though as he loosened his grip on her arm to open the door for her, for the first time, Jewel's brilliant smile faded to a frown. Another one of the notorious summer showers had hit...precisely the thing Euram had voiced he didn't want. Yet she puffed out her cheeks in determination. Euram was GOING to have a good birthday if it killed her!
"Drat..." he said. "Well...you could go drop off the box in your room, and we could wait a little bit and see if it clears up~?" Options. There were always options.
The grin that had been plastered on Euram’s face from being able to play this part fell the second a raindrop hit the velvet on his sleeve. He pulled his hand back inside as though it were acid and started in horror as the light rain turned into a downpour almost instantly as summer storms were wont to do.
“But..Oh..it..” Euram sputtered through several emotions, and finally ended on a tantrum. “It’s not fair!” he pouted, stomping a foot, the prince façade gone instantly. “I hate this place. Hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it!” He could vaguely hear Jewel’s calm voice, but he was too busy sulking to really take her suggestions in.
Seeing that Euram didn't seem to notice her at all, and that he had quickly fallen into a typical tantrum as he often did when everything didn't go his way, Jewel had to think fast. This was the day it was supposed to go his way for once! She grabbed tight to his arm and pulled him back from the door, closing it before standing in front of him. She stood tall on her toes, steadying herself with a hand on each of his shoulders (though partially to keep him from flailing) and kissed him on the forehead.
"Come on. The day isn't over yet. There's stilla chance." And without re-explaining, she grabbed a firm hold of his arm again, and began to drag him off to his own room.
Jewel’s intervention came not a moment too soon, and was exactly what was necessary to keep the tantrum from going into full force; physically stopping him and then a distraction to pull his mind in a different direction. He deflated at the kiss to his forehead, still pouting sullenly as he started being dragged. “But…what of the café?” he questioned as he noted they were going in the opposite direction.
As she pulled him along, up the stairs and through corridors her grip on his arm never loosened a bit.
"We'll still go, of course. Just...wait a bit. It's sure to clear up, and if it doesn't we'll have to make due...change the plans a bit."
With that, she found herself in front of his room...but didn't feel quite right letting herself in. So she just looked to him with a smile and tilted her head to the side.
Euram was getting used to being dragged about. No one would have dared in Falena, but everyone seemed to think it was ok here. He didn’t mind or even think about it when someone he trusted was doing the pulling however, instead he was just curious about what Jewel was planning. “Change to wh…?” he started to ask, and then trailed off as he realized where they were.
He may not have known exactly what Jewel was planning, but his mind certainly jumped to some nice conclusions. Conclusions which caused an interesting reaction of what appeared to be a mild coughing fit, and wild eyes and he tried to determine if he were dreaming or not.
Jewel's eyes sort of narrowed a bit, and her smiled melted to a look of curiosity at Euram's reaction, and pointed lack of actually opening the door. Though in an instant, her eyes went wide and a smile stuck her face again, looking totally the opposite as she had before. 'That's what he's thinking?' She bit her lip to hold back a giggle, and donned a rather mischievous look. Now, the look was not for the reason it would surely be perceived. But it worked both ways, all the same.
Once she figured he wasn't able to be so forward as to even open the door, she did so herself, and dragged him the rest of the way in.
Euram would have gotten to the door eventually; he just needed longer than most to sort things out when he actually decided to think first. It was much easier when he got into that mode for others to take the lead, as he was easily pliable. He readily followed after Jewel, misunderstanding her look and still stuck in pre-teen mind-fog despite his real age. Once they were in the room and the door was closed he became a bit more forward, slipping his arm out of her grip and took her hand instead, looking at her with what he thought was a debonair smile.
A bit surprised at the response, Jewel fought back the feeling that threatened to make her blush. She hadn't expected him to go so easily back into this mode. Nonetheless, she shrugged internally going with an 'oh well' approach. Though she didn't mind having her hand held, she had other plans. She extracted her hand, and used both, very carefully, to extract the shiny new pin from his cravat, before looking up at him through her eyelashes, and retrieving the small velvet box from his other hand and replacing it inside. She then took the box and walked across the room to the vanity, placing it daintily next to some...earrings with pigs on them? She shook her head and decided to put it out of her mind. Forever.
Euram stood frozen as Jewel went about her work on his cravat. Now that the initial shock was wearing off, and it was becoming more apparent this was not in fact a dream. If it had been a dream, there wouldn’t have been any rain on his birthday to begin with. “Gemstone…” he started, feeling rather unsure of himself, and not enjoying flip flopping back and forth between emotions. He coughed once, before continuing a fake smile of confidence on his face. “I..didn’t think you would wish to remove such a fine gift before it could be well displayed. Unless perhaps you did not enjoy how it looked…”
Now that was more like what she expected of him, and it would make things easier in the long run. She returned to her spot in front of him, and laid a single finger on top of his lips with a small "Shhhh" sound. Then she went to work loosening the tie to his cape, wrapping her arms around him once it was free, to pull it off.
Jewel was not helping Euram’s unease with her silence. His breath caught in his throat at silencing touch. The unease increased as she continued to undress him, and finally he was able to move and grasped both of her arms before she could completely remove his cape. “Miss Jewel,” he said, distancing the situation with a more formal name. “I cannot notice that you are being most silent. Is everything alright?”
Where she had previously been attempting to avoid eye contact, when Euram grabbed her, she had no choice. With the most innocent, yet at the same time not at all innocent voice she could muster, she looked into his eyes with a rather ambiguous smile and replied. "Never better~"
With that, she leaned slowly into his chest and placed a small kiss on his jaw line.
Though finally, she broke down into a fit of giggles. She really couldn't keep this ruse up, and buried her face in Euram's chest. When she got a grip, she backed up a bit and smiled at him, this time decidedly more honesty in her innocence.
"I just wanted to get your nice clothes off, so when we have to run through the rain to get to the cafe, they won't get ruined."
Euram’s mind had been flying back and forth for since they were in the hallway, and took yet another dramatic lurch when Jewel started laughing, in his opinion, out of nowhere. He let go of her arms as she fell on his chest, and just stood there until things started making sense again. Which they did when Jewel finally explained what she was doing, it just wasn’t something he was expecting. “…When WHAT?!”
"Well!" She said, straightening up, "I wasn't about to just up and cancel our plans. And I wasn't going to let your beautiful clothes get ruined either so...it seemed like the logical choice." She took a hold of both of his hands.
“I’M NOT GOING OUT THERE IN THAT!” Euram exclaimed, with a lack of his normal poetic speech at the sheer shock of the suggestion, but mostly from the embarrassment the past few moments had caused him. “What a…It is a most Illogical choice!”
"Well if it's that or sit in here and mope I think it's a good choice. Are you honestly afraid of a little water? Heavens knows you take your time in the baths." She said the last bit with a little chuckled tacked onto the end. And again she attempted to free Euram of the cape.
Euram was not nearly as amused as she was, especially since he was the butt of the jokes. Three in a row even! “I most certainly am not!” he protested, even as Jewel managed to get the cape away from him. “It is…how can you suggest such a thing?! Why we will become horridly ill! Ill enough to die!”
Okay. Now he was being a mite childish. Unfortunately for him, Euram's hysterics were only working against him, making Jewel feel like this was all the more necessary. Jewel could think of any number of retorts, but one stood out in mind the best.
"Now Euram...I work in the infirmary. Don't you think I'd know what would and wouldn't make us sick? And even if perchance that did happen, don't you think I could take care of it?"
Jewel’s logic was no helping the situation any. “That is quite besides the point!” Euram exclaimed, not saying anything about what the point may actually be, as he didn’t know himself. “You cannot..it is…improper! This entire experience! I will not allow it any further!”
Jewel simply crossed her arms, taking very little heed to Euram's protests. She twisted up her face in a disapproving look, trying to think of how to get him to go along with this. She was convinced that he would have fun, once he got over his fear of melting in the rain...or whatever it really was.
"I suppose I could eat your birthday meal by myself...but I think that would be far more improper. So. You're coming with me."
With that she stepped up, and grabbed hold of his arm, pulling him back out the door.
“Hey..hey!” Euram protested as he was dragged out the door by the stronger Jewel. “Would it not be easier if neither of us did?” The cape at least was left on the floor of his room as they left. He wasn’t afraid he would melt he was just…afraid! It was raining outside, you don’t go outside when it’s raining! It’s just not done.
Well this was easy enough. Jewel felt a little odd about dragging him back out there, for a number of reasons. One, she didn't expect it to be quite this easy TO drag him. Two...she felt like she should feel worse about this than she actually did, leaving a sour taste in her mouth...though sour like lemonade. Once at the door, she stopped, still keeping a firm hold on him.
"You sure you want to keep your coat on?"
Euram did try to make it difficult for her, but he was having a difficult time finding a place to dig in his heels with her pace. “Gem…” he complained in what sounded close to a whimper. When they finally stopped, he didn’t pull away but did turn a pathetic face to look at her imploringly. “If I do, do I still have to go outside?”
Jewel found it difficult to keep her resolve when he sounded so helpless. She just kept telling herself that this was for his own good. Really, she wasn't sure why it was such a big deal..it was only water!
"I'm afraid so, my sweet prince." With the one hand still clinging tightly to his arm, she stroked his cheek softly with the other.
Euram was noticing his avenues of escape diminishing to nothing. The brush against his cheek sealed the deal, and he completely deflated. “You are a cruel woman…” he complained, but started to remove his coat.
"Me? Cruel? I could have dragged you out into the rain still wearing it, couldn't I?" She stood on her toes and kissed his forehead much like she had earlier. "I promise if you don't end up looking back on today fondly...you can blame me forever!" She looked up at him with a look so innocent, one might entirely forget what she was really doing. But not for long...as she grabbed hold of his hand this time, and burst through the door into the rain, giggling all the while.
“Oh I shall!” Euram said, though it lacked a great deal of venom in part due to the kiss. He just managed to shuck off the coat before he was forcibly dragged outside into the pouring rain. He had never been out in the rain if he could avoid it, the longest had been running from the base of Rainwall up to the mansion and it was something he hadn’t enjoyed or wanted to do again. “Ah!” he exclaimed, flinching from the rain in vain.
It was indeed pouring, as it didn't take them long to figure out. Jewel was soaked to the bone in just a few seconds of running, leading her to question why they were running at all. So she slowed down to a mere walk, still clinging onto Euram's hand. It gave her the opportunity to look at him now, looking a bit like a cat who'd just been tossed into a lake. Still...it was a cute look for him. And she certainly didn't mind looking at the thin white fabric beginning to cling to his chest.
Euram’s instinct was to run the entire way, not really caring that once he was completely soaked he might as well just go with it. However, he was determined to maintain some form of decorum, as it was the only thing keeping him from completely freaking out. The wisps of hair around his face were stuck to his cheeks in a matter of moments, and his long ponytail would take quite a few squeezes to get all the water out. It was a good thing the layers of velvet had been taken off as they would have easily been destroyed by all the water. “Is this what you had in mind?” he asked, voice just a bit shaky.
Jewel stopped all together as he spoke, turning towards him. She tried to push a piece of wet hair that was sticking to his face behind an ear, to get a better look at him. "No...this certainly wasn't in my plans," she said with a small shiver "...But...I really try to see the best in every situation." With that, she leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "You should really try it some time."
“You are an incredibly odd person, Gemstone,” Euram said, unable to get as mad as he’d like when she kept distracting him with those kisses. “Well, now that we are soaked beyond recognition,” he started rubbing his arms from the cold, hoping she would complete the sentence with a suggestion of what came next.
"Oh! Right...hehe." She grabbed hold of his hand again, and resumed walking. But for the slightest moment, she had forgotten where they were going. So again, she stopped. This time though...she became distracted. By what exactly, she couldn't say. Maybe it was just the rain...or maybe she was just being her normal head in the clouds self. Whatever it was, she found herself again standing facing Euram...and again pulling herself a bit higher on her toes...and again kissing him. But this time, it was different. She took her time, put a hand on his chest, and kept her eyes closed...snuggling in closer to him as they both shivered in the rain.
Euram was getting very confused. This entire experience completely out of his normal realm. “What is…” he said as he found himself facing Jewel again, but was cut off as she kissed him. He was soaked, he was cold, but that wouldn’t stop him from taking whatever comfort was offered to him. He brought his hands up, lightly caressing her arms. The clammy wet feeling of her skin from the rain was new, but…not unpleasant. The contrast between warmth from her body and the wet chill from the rain was…interesting. Interesting enough for him to pull her closer and deepen the contact as well as he knew how.
She wasn't sure how or when her lips parted...but she was sure that her cheeks were pink. Still, she leaned forward into Euram, now clinging with a fist to a bit of fabric that moments before had been clinging just as hard to his skin. Finally, she pulled back slightly, breathing, though not letting go. "I...s-sorry." Yeah...she was blushing alright. "I guess I just got...a little carried away."
One of the benefits of not thinking things through, meant that he didn’t blush until after Jewel had pulled away. He pulled away and coughed into a hand. “Indeed…” he agreed, realizing that he had gotten carried away as well. That was…most ungentlemanly. He stayed there trying to catch his breath, almost grateful that the rain blocked the sound. “This.. This could not have been done inside?” he asked, before breaking into a chuckle.
She scratched the back of her head, half avoiding eye contact. "That probably would have made more sense...But like I said...it's not like I planned it to go like this." She finally stopped avoiding eye contact. "But...I'm not complaining." She reached down and took his hand again. "We should probably get out of the rain now..."
“Now you wish to not be in the rain?” Euram said, looking at her confused. “If we had done that from the start…” He just broke off, trying to figure out exactly what was going on, and not having much luck at all. “You are a very odd woman, Gemstone,” he said finally, just shaking his head.
She giggled. "I just meant that we should go have our meal. Unless you've finally grown to like the rain? We can stand here all day if you want, but I'm getting kind of hungry." She poked at him playfully.
“Most certainly not!” Euram exclaimed, whether he thought it wasn’t so bad now or not. “We are going to make a dreadful mess of the café. We must have an excuse!”
Well...he did have a point. But for some reasons Jewel wasn't worried about that (or anything, really) right now. Instead she clung to his arm and began walking again. "I think I'll leave that up to you."