Comments | hearts_andminds: Dinner Party (Closed to Meg Giry, Faramir, Steerpike) [Forward Dated To Tomorrow]

seeherwheniwake in hearts_andminds

Dinner Party (Closed to Meg Giry, Faramir, Steerpike) [Forward Dated To Tomorrow]

Oct 10, 2011 22:14

((OOC: Posting this now, since I'll be at work at six tomorrow. ;)))Fantine had been up since very early, cleaning the apartment ten times over, making sure everything was exactly as she wanted it to be. She and Meg had been working on the menu and the food for days, and the apartment smelled of cooking pies, and the rest of the dinner that they ( Read more... )

faramir, hotel

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faramir_hurin October 11 2011, 05:46:04 UTC

It feels a bit odd to come to a party dressed in modern clothing. I've not even brought a knife as I'm wearing modern shoes instead of any sort of boot. A bottle of wine from Eryn Lasgalen. I know the meaning, Wood of the Greenleaves, but not the actual location.* The village has provided me with such before, and I have to imagine that I'll learn of the place some time in my future. Like the prince of Ithilien, it might not yet be named.

I've chosen ranger green and tan even for my modern attire. Meg has seen me in much finer and I hope it is adequate. All this just for showing Fantine where apples grew wild.**

What strange luck I have with ladies who come from France.

*The undocumented name of what Mirkwood becomes in the Fourth Age.
**So he has to have met Fantine before. She'll know he comes from Gondor, is a ranger, and very little detail. He was business-oriented on the gathering trip, if that's okay.

faramir_hurin November 12 2011, 04:32:16 UTC

"You should indeed."

Perhaps we should not spend our time talking to each other--our hostesses may find it rude.

not_queertype November 12 2011, 05:01:34 UTC

"And perhaps we should rejoin the ladies who have opened their door and warmed their hearth for us," he adds.

faramir_hurin November 12 2011, 06:01:00 UTC

"Truly. Though I would say so even if I did not fear my stomach might begin to make its hunger known." The food smells very good.

not_queertype November 12 2011, 06:36:54 UTC

"Then let us join our lovely hostesses without further tarrying," he says, with a small smile.

seeherwheniwake October 11 2011, 14:37:50 UTC

Fantine is wearing a dress in the style of her time, in a very soft shade of blue, one that almost exactly matches her eyes.

She smiles warmly as she welcomes Faramir, taking his hands and squeezing them.

"I'm so glad you've come. I hope you enjoy what we've done with the apples."

faramir_hurin October 11 2011, 20:33:37 UTC

"Thank you for inviting me. It was not necessary, but I am sure I will enjoy what you've done. My own cooking improves, but it is not particularly exciting." There's more than just the apple pie previously discussed. "It smells delicious, though you do not look as though you've worked hard at all."

Perhaps it is a gift she has.

"I never expected... well, I only wished to help anyone interested and did not expect to get anything in return. Certainly not a fine evening in pleasant company."

My bad--he won't have mentioned Gondor and he doesn't know she's met Denethor.

seeherwheniwake October 12 2011, 00:46:08 UTC

Fantine smiled warmly.

"Oh, you mustn't give all the credit to me, Meg worked just as hard as I did. And it was truly a pleasure to prepare a meal for you two. I enjoy the creative aspect of cooking; I think if done right it can bring a great deal of joy to everyone involved. I hope it does for you and M. Steerpike."

She smiled and led him into the house.

"I hope it will be one of many visits you make to our home."

faramir_hurin October 12 2011, 04:03:53 UTC

Steerpike? Well, the young do move swiftly.

"I am a ranger. We learn to cook to survive. In the village I have improved, but no one would pay to eat what I've made." Although... "Do you know how to cook game? I hunt deer and rabbits here, and have only just learned that we have geese also. I would not touch the ducks."

There is no way of knowing which ones speak and which do not.

"As to the visits... It is different to come to the rooms of modern ladies. They are accustomed to such things. With those such as Meg and yourself, I am more given to the proprieties. But... there may be no harm in visiting in the public areas." It really is different with modern women. They think nothing of it.

seeherwheniwake October 12 2011, 04:25:57 UTC

"I have never cooked game before, but I would love to try. I cannot imagine it would be that terribly different in preparation than a chicken or a piece of beef? If you wish, I would be very glad to try next time you hunt something. I'm considering trying to find a job cooking, if any of the restaurants are hiring."

After preparing today's meal, she had discovered once again how much she truly enjoyed the process.

"Modern women...frighten me in some ways. I want to think that their actions are inappropriate...but as Father Sam said, they are only inappropriate if I look at them my way. They're not bad their way. And different people have different ideas of what's right and wrong. It's all very confusing to me, Monsieur, and I'm afraid I'm not wise enough to grasp all the different ideas. So it just frightens me. I have to stick with what I believe, because it's all I know. Not that I was ever a proper woman."

faramir_hurin October 12 2011, 05:47:42 UTC

"It is not that different, although venison has much less fat in it than beef does, and goose has more than chicken. But there are so many recipes--I can help show you the books in the library, if you like." I've spent enough time looking through and taking the ones that interested me. Actually, I'm not that bad at cooking ( ... )

seeherwheniwake October 12 2011, 05:57:51 UTC

Fantine flushed a little, dropping her eyes and looking quite uncomfortable.

"I have done things in my past that would have me forever shunned from good society, were I ever a member of it to start with," she said in a soft, terribly sad voice. "I made a mistake, loved someone who did not return it, and bore his child. To keep her safe and well, I did unspeakable things."

She shivered.

"I will never be a lady, but I hope I can be seen as a kind woman. It is better, maybe, for I, having been so cruelly judged, am less likely to judge others."

faramir_hurin October 12 2011, 07:02:08 UTC

Ah.

"Lady Fantine," I say quietly. "None of us have never made a mistake. You loved, so the mistake was his."

My own bastard, to call him what he is, has a more complicated story.

"I have a son and I am not married. It is a long story, and confusing, but it happened here in the village and caused my father to give me a name that stung--yet he was right. And I am not sorry, because I love my son." I do meet her eyes. "If that is not enough, then I can guess those 'unspeakable things'.

"Where I come from, such women are not considered as they are in many other places. It is work, appreciated. I am a captain of rangers, most of whom are not married. We're away from the city and do not even see women for months at a time. How could I judge you cruelly, knowing that you are simply a woman who did what you needed to do for your child?" Even if there had been no child at all. "It is difficult to speak of, but those women... the ones in Gondor... they are good people. Why should you not also be a good person?"

seeherwheniwake October 12 2011, 16:20:36 UTC

"I have heard such things before," she said softly. "From Lord Denethor, who I met when I first arrived here. You sound a great deal like him in the things you say. And I believe you, that it is the way things are in your world. But it is not the way things are in mine, and the things I have done cause me shame and embarrassment. I was never a lady, but my heart and body were mine to do with as I pleased. When...when I had to do what I did, that was taken from me, and it was terrible. It was as if I did not even own myself anymore. That everything about me was for sale to the highest bidder."

She sighed, hugging herself.

"I would do the same thing again if I had to, for Cosette. But I will not try to claim that it was just work, or that it was no different from the factory job I lost. Because it is different, Monsieur. At least for me, that act is very personal, very special, and while I am not a prude, or an innocent in any way, it is important that it is something that I choose to give. It feels...wrong to do that without the ( ... )

faramir_hurin October 12 2011, 17:00:58 UTC

"You have met the Lord Denethor?" Well, no surprise that we would speak similarly. "He does not lie, my lady. And I will not call you 'lady' if you do not like it, but all women can be called ladies to me. It is not only for those with titles or wealth ( ... )

seeherwheniwake October 12 2011, 17:11:46 UTC

"Yes, I met him when I first arrived. He was very kind to me. You know him?"

She listened closely to his words. They were kind and supportive, but did not ease the sadness and pain in her heart.

"You are kind, monsieur, and I hope that it will be so for me. But I do not see honor or respect in my future. Your brother sounds like a kind man, a true gentleman, but it is the rare man who would do such a thing. It must have been a very true love indeed, for him to go against so many things that he had been raised to believe. I do not plan to marry; I do not see it happening for me. Perhaps I can find contentment as some man's mistress; in a position where at least I have long-term companionship, if not respectability."

She took his hand and squeezed it tightly, looking at the ground.

"I fear I love too easily, Monsieur. And it is likely to get me hurt again. But how can I be other than I am?"

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