Vanessa // 005

[stfuelly]

Who: Vanessa Nightray and Ada Vessalius
Where: Pandora estate
Style: Starting in third but it's up to you, milady
Status: Closed

Comments

[stfuelly]

The room is cleaner than she expected. Somehow, she'd figured that this girl would be just as unclean as her annoying older foster brother Vincent. The maids had gossiped ruthlessly back home about the wasteland of his bedroom, and in her mind she'd always associated it with the Vessalius household as well. A group of people who cared only about themselves. The selfish, arrogant fools that they must be; they shouldn't be able to appreciate the wealth that they had come into since the Tragedy one hundred years ago.

But once again, she's surprised by these two lowly children. Her brother seems to have been right all along. There's none of that 'hatred' that the other noble houses exhibited towards the Nightrays in the two of them. Outwardly, at least.

She moves across the room and sits wherever is available; an empty chair, or the bed if there isn't a chair available. Her book is set in her lap, back straight as she glares across to the young woman. Her tone commands attention, as it always does, but her words are soft as she speaks.

"There are very few things that a woman is allowed to have of their own, you know. For most of us, we'll never have the opportunity to lay right to any official titles as head of the family. Some even forfeit the rights to their name altogether."

Aside from the Rainsworth family, but who even knew what was going on there.

"Most of the nobility makes a game of trapping the man with the most power, the most wealth and the most good looks. But they're all completely idiotic and foolish! They don't understand the power that they hold, none of them! Do you understand that much, Ada Vessalius? You've come out into society, what? Three years ago? Surely you've noticed this."

[purethingsonly]

Ada sat in the chair across from Vanessa and stared as she listened. Vanessa cherished her pride in her name above all else, didn't she? That was why she had so much hatred for the Vessalius, wasn't it? It was all a matter of pride and upbringing. But those views were respectable, as was her passion on the subject. Just listening to her made Ada feel on edge with excitement. Even if their views differed, she truly believed that there were many things that she could learn from Vanessa.

Nodding she clutched her own notebook to her chest. "Yes. I know." She too had been there long enough to see society's little games and the roles people put themselves in. While she bore no ill-will against them for doing what seemed only natural, she had always intended to be different. That's why she wished to be with the person she loved most, no matter what society or the nobility said.

"I don't want to be like that..."

[stfuelly]

She tilts her head, but at least looks as though she approves of the answer. She'd always assumed that the Vessalius girl would be like the rest; a gossip-monger who enjoyed spreading rumors about the girl standing next to them in order to ruin her reputation, whether for some higher purpose or just for sport. There could be such a deeper connection between women, Vanessa was certain of it! But her mother had never given her a younger sister and the ladies of the capital had ostracized her from most everything.

They didn't understand their worth; even an outsider could see it.

It really pisses her off just thinking about it now.

"Good." She hesitates a moment, words actually soft as she finally goes on.

"Your mother probably never had a chance to teach you things like this, right?"

[purethingsonly]

Ada watches Vanessa, as if gauging her reaction to the things she said. She was somewhat nervous of garnering Vanessa's approval, but that didn't mean she intended to simply aim for the right answers. She just... wanted to know what Vanessa would think of her words. So, when Vanessa seemed to approve of them, it sent a small flood of relief through her.

"Ah..."

That softness... its rarely directed at her but... it makes he feel a bit more at ease.

"No... she didn't." But she's not sad. No. She's happy. Because she still gets to learn these things from Vanessa now.

[stfuelly]

Her mother had been the person she was closest to at home. She still loved all her brothers, sure, but there were also only so many boy-antics she could take in a day. Her mother had always been polite, proper and filled with silent strength up until the day that Claude and Ernest had followed their brother to death and her family had been destroyed.

She shakes her head, sadly.

"Every young lady should at least learn the important things from her mother. The things that make one strong and value their worth." She frowns a bit at her words, eying Ada warily.

"My brother seems to think that you have more worth than I was once lead to believe."

[purethingsonly]

This was why it must be so important to Vanessa, Ada thinks. The way her eyes shone right now... there was something important and emotional there... a bond that was very important, and it made Ada smile softly. No matter what end it had come to, Vanessa seemed to have walked away with something very precious through it all. And that was important.

But the thing that really surprised her was the last bit.

"You mean... Elliot does?" She shouldn't be surprised. At least, she doesn't think she should, but she really is. It's a wonderful kind of surprised though, one that brightens her smile a bit, no matter how surprised the expression looked initially. "That makes me very happy..."

[stfuelly]

Ah, right. There was Vincent too. Though Vanessa would never willingly call that boy her 'brother' so willingly. Ernest and Claude never accepted those two weird kids, so she wouldn't either, no matter how much displaced esteem Elliot had for him.

"Elliot has decided, on his own, to give your family respect," she answers. But there is something akin of embarrassment, maybe even shame in her eyes. It had always been rumored that the Nightray family had something to do with the Vessalius matriarch's death, even if it had never been proven. She turns her head to look back out the window.

"Our respective status means nothing here, so I'm willing to...listen to his reasons."

Which is the closest that she's going to come to proposing a truce here.

[purethingsonly]

Of course, she had never heard as much from Elliot, but surely that was simply because he was Elliot. He wasn't very good at sharing those kinds of things. She had always believed he had a good heart. And here, she was starting to see the more direct proof of all of her beliefs. After all... it was because of him that Vanessa too was starting to reconsider these things. She doesn't mind if Vanessa still has her reserves. It is proof that maybe things can change, if only little by little.

"I see. I am grateful for that Miss Vanessa. And I will do my best to show you that I am worthy of that respect." Because she's serious about it. This seems like a big step to her. It feels... so rewarding.

[stfuelly]

Well, now that that is settled (as far as she's willing to let it settle for the moment, at least) she opens her notebook and flips to the very first page.

"It sounds like a meaningless activity," she begins, "but floral conversation can be a very enriching activity. Women can often be negligent or conflicting in their own feelings and emotions. Some don't possess the vocabulary needed to express them properly. But in any case, the tradition of floral conversation helps to gain both of these things. An understanding, and a bond between women."

She frowns, thinking back on the times spent in her mother's parlor.

"Or at times, it creates enemies as well. Not all emotions can be positive, after all."