Mercy Mild | Eilionora & Sebastian
This was to be viewed as a generosity, Eilia knew: Roderick had permitted Eilia and Aria to mingle amongst the other guests during Guinevere's birthday celebrations. Naturally, they were not permitted to leave the castle grounds, and they were being sharply watched by ever-present 'retainers' which Eilia knew very well to be spies and jailors, both, but she meant to see all that she might. It was an important opportunity, Eilia thought, to see all that had changed since Roderick had had some time upon the throne without her direct interference.
She also knew that her retainers would relax their positions, slightly, in the presence of the imperial family and that -- for good or ill -- Sebastian was the most pleasant of them. So it was that, spotting him across the thronged room, Eilia made her way towards him.
"Good evening, Your Imperial Highness. What a joyous celebration," she added, glancing about to admire the general splendor.
In truth, it was all a touch overwrought for Eilia's tastes, which leaned more towards natural and elegant simplicity, but -- knowing his father -- she felt no hint of surprise. And, for all that, she was glad as could be for each roaring fire in every hearth to chase away the whirling of the raging storm outside. Swallowing back on the concern that bred in her, she turned back to him with an amicable smile.
"Her Imperial Highness looks radiant, tonight, but then she is a such a lovely young woman: I suppose she can hardly look otherwise."
She smiled, but couldn't help wondering slightly if Sebastian found Guinevere's happiness anything at all to rejoice over. She'd witnessed, for herself, just how cut-throat this family was, even amongst itself, and Prince Edmund's stories had hardly helped alleviate her concerns on that scale.
Just in case, she added for good measure, not wishing to antagonize him tonight: "The Princess Cassandra is quite her equal. How lovely her locks look in the firelight!" It was, after all, very true. "I suppose she must be most pleased by tonight's festivities? She seems very much to enjoy such pastimes, I think?"
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god i really only remembered it & clicked it together when writing that but . rusty really refuses to help brisby w cloning . he turns down a lot of money & opportunity to help brisby w cloning, and this is before the clone thing is revealed & its all just chalked up to his father's research at that point but its really soooooooooo . they're his life work, and it's all just for his boys, its just to keep them alive & around & to let them live when theyre stuck in this life of constant danger and screw ups that rusty didnt want & when he's such a failure he cant even keep them alive so many times that they haunt his mind . its not his failure as a scientist that haunts him, its his failure as a father & how he can acknowledge his father as a brilliant scientist but a terrible father . but what is he bc he's doing what any father would do isnt he? wouldnt you do anything to bring them back? and you succeed in that but youre also haunted by the fact that youve let them die so many times & thats not a successful thing thats also failure .
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