One of the delights of reincarnating into Penelope was exploring how nobility worked.
It's already been a week but it wasn't as exhausting as I thought it would be. To be honest it all came very fast and I slept soundly each night. Penelope did have her fair share of lessons and a heavy schedule but it was well balanced with just enough free time.
It didn't take me long to notice that Penelope didn't ever even consider perhaps seeking out the little bits of joy in life. She was all about acting properly, grow up to be an influential and respectable woman, just be a good perfect aristocratic noblewoman. She wanted to grow up faster while she had a perfect childhood to enjoy.
Honestly, to me, that kind of life sorta sounds like it sucks. Yes, I, who was born with severe health issues in Paris to two normal citizens with decent salaries, think that Penelope's version of a good life sucks.
How do I know all that about her life?
Well. I didn't have the chance of some of the lucky isekai people who incarnated a character AND received the memories of the character's entire life so far (ex. Abigail Friedkin, lucky incarnation of Snow White's evil stepmother) I had no souvenirs from Penelope. I don't know who her contacts are. I don't know what happened to hers and Roselia's mother. I don't know her relationship with her father. I don't know what she likes to eat for breakfast. I don't even know her favorite color (though I suspect it must be green).
Yet I found her diaries from ever since she knew how to write, so from about 2 years ago. The first ones were all in a very bad handwriting (just what would be expected of a 5/6 years old), but the first thing she wrote on the first page of her oldest diary, (so the first thing she ever officially wrote in her life), was a list of qualities a lady needs to become the 'Jewel of society'. Everything was horribly spelled and her 'S's looked like '5's, but I managed to decipher it. That already gave me an idea of what kind of person she was.
There was nothing in there that was particularly joyful. The most positive sentence I read in there was: Dear diary, I am one step closer to my goal. I suppose she takes pleasure in that, moving closer to her objectives. She also slightly described her tea parties but most importantly she wrote down the crucial subjects of which she and her friends talked and circled and underlined those she needed to investigate more because of the importance of it. She also mentioned that knowing much might prove to others that she's cultured (Wow, Penelope). She also vaguely wrote down a few names of her friends, but mostly she just described their family wealth. She classed them into two, those she should get closer to to improve her influence and social circle, and those who might not be worth the effort really since collaborating with them would get her nowhere.
I was very stunned reading all of that. What kind of twisted child is this...
She didn't mention Roselia very often, but when she did, it was something like: Roselia decided to not invite me to her 'private' tea party although I helped her pick the outfit for that day. I'll have my revenge by wearing one of HER dresses to the next event we'll both be invited to. I believe if I cut the sugar for next week I'll fit in them.
That sounded very childish to me, especially seeming how Roselia seems to look up to Penelope. Plus, who can't help but question an 8 year old seriously employing the word: Revenge because she wasn't invited to something. I wonder if this is how Maleficent was as a child.
Well! Penelope's life was just planning and scheming. That was all she ever was. And mind you this is her at 8 years old. Normally I think that we've all been pure and innocent, also very ignorant, as children. But Penelope was all about schemes. Her whole life, she planned it in advance. There wasn't the little spark of hope, innocence and anticipation for more events in life for her, no particular excitement, taht was so common to kids her age. She set her own future in stone.
I don't really call that living. It almost sounds sad. Who does she think she is, Wednesday Addams??
As a child all I wished to do was build a snowman with my parents but I couldn't risk catching a cold or it could've worsened my condition...Penelope never even tried it despite having a perfectly fine body!
Penelope you ungrateful little noble...It almost sounds pathetic living like that. She sure was organized and demonstrated some brains there, but who does that at 8 years old?
The good thing was that thanks to her harsh efforts, the etiquette was easy for me. If her soul vacated this body and mine replaced it, her reflexes still dwelled in. When her horrible dance teacher tested my abilities to dance and I mentally freaked because I never did anything even close to moving rhythmically in my life, it turned out okay. The body remembered the steps and it wasn't too hard getting the hang of it afterwards. During my meals, my hand automatically went for the right forks despite their millions if different sizes. I didn't have to stay puzzled for long on which spoon was for soup and which for dessert.
It's a 12/10 for muscle memory.
The noble etiquette was so deeply imprinted into Penelope that there was no getting rid of it.
I knew how to curtsey perfectly, I had good table manners. The only thing that I don't have the hang of yet was my tongue. I didn't act naturally like Penelope. I didn't speak the same way. That was no longer important since I intend on changing her whole dialogue now.
I stifled a yawn as the teacher was dragging Roselia across the room for the uptenth, making her twirl and swirl in a ball gown. She was less performant in her dancing than Penelope, well me now. I couldn't tell which were her missteps since I know nothing about dance, I just follow what Penelope's agile body tells me to do when the music starts, but I could tell they were frequent, judging from how her face was twisting up and down.
(Despite her having said that she will not wear the low made bracelet in front of other people, I could see the green braided craft was still on her wrist. Roselia, you like that bracelet don't you...)
"Very disappointing, miss Roselia." The teacher grunted, an old lady with a sharp yet hoarse at a time voice, silver hair pulled into a bun, and wrinkled skin. Her eyes were piercing and her mouth was always twisted in some sort of distaste towards us, her students. "I thought I asked for you to practice your steps more often!"
Roselia looked down, I could tell she was very annoyed by the way she was clenching her fist. At least she's not crying. She seems too proud to cry.
Nobody in my old world would even expect such a young child to dance this way unless she's a prodigy like Diana.
Diana, I wonder what you're doing right now...
~•~•~•~
Diana twirled around the coins that the nobles had given her. Her mouth still retained the taste of the hot chocolate from the other day at the festival of Obelia. She was lying on her back on her makeshift bed on a large carriage meant for dance troupe transportations, just deep in thought and twirling over and over the coins in her hands. Sometimes she'd grunt as one the carriage tripped a bit.
'I want to dance...' She thought out of nowhere.
They had kept telling her that she was a great, talented dancer. The master also told her that, like every other lady in the dance troupe too.
'But I don't feel that good.'
She liked to dance. A lot. When she dances everything becomes idle, nothing mattered anymore. She was in her own world, free to be herself. Dancing for money seemed wrong...
The master said it himself though, she generated a lot of profit. There weren't many who could dance this way at such a young age.
She also doesn't feel that comfortable when the others watch her, judge her, criticize her...Then it feels as if it's all about technics...Less about the thrill of it...
"Diana?" A raspy voice called.
The young girl propped herself onto a sitting position on the bed.
"Y-yes?" She asked as her hands crisped around the coins.
"Can I come in?"
"Okay! Yes, of course!"
The door opened and she recognized her master.
"Hello, master." She said neutrally "Do you need anything?"
"Yes Diana, I just wanted to talk to you about something." The master sat on the bunk in front of hers.
"Oh sir I know that my steps weren't-" Diana admitted weakly, she had made some mistakes on their last presentation and her muscles were a bit stiff.
"You were brilliant out there as usual, Diana, our little star." The master smiled "It's about the other children I saw you talk to at the festival."
Diana's heart missed a beat. He doesn't know about the princes does he? They specifically asked for her not to tell anyone they were there...They were kind to her, she didn't want to reveal anything, not even to the master.
"Um yes sir?" She said as her hands clutched the coins, making a little clicking sound.
"They were nobles weren't they?" The master asked as his eyes set on her closed palm, the sound of coins having attracted him.
"Yes...yes sir." After all, the way they were dressed definitely didn't sort them into commoner rank. She couldn't lie on this. Diana herself knew that Penelope was a noble upon first glance. Only nobles could afford clothes like that.
"What did they want with you?"
"They just wanted to talk, sir. They said it was intriguing to see me dance because we were same aged...That is all. They were very nice. They bought me a hot chocolate." She smiled, remembering the taste.
"I see. Do you know which house they were from?"
"No sir. They didn't tell me their names." Diana shook her head and looked down. It was hard for her to look someone in the eye and openly lie to them.
"You got along well though?"
"Well they said they wished to see me for next year. I doubt they remember by then though. It was just a few minutes sir, they were friendly but I'm not sure I'll have the chance to meet them again in the future." Diana smiled sadly "They're nobles and I'm just a dancer from Siodonna."
"You're not someone one could forget easily, Diana." The master said "You shouldn't be so modestly humble. You're talented. You'll have the occasion to see them again. You're not just a dancer from Siodonna. Soon you shall be THE dancer from Siodonna."
"You really think so?" Diana asked as color came filling her cheeks.
"Of course! I want you to stay close to them, the nobles I mean! Commoners give us some okay money, but nobles have wealth to spend!" The older man added "If you stay close to them and get us a good reputation, I believe our shows may generate even more profit! With their sponsorship they could elevate you and our whole troop to an international level!"
"Oh..." Diana looked down "Of course..."
She never met much people her age. Claude and Penelope were indeed from noble birth, but she liked the both of them a lot. She didn't want to intentionally cozy up to them that way. It'd be pathetic of her to ask anything of them It seemed too low. It'd be as if she was taking advantage of them and for a first meeting, she actually feels like she valued them a lot already. They seemed like genuine people. And she didn't need much money. Being part of the dance troupe, she was offered acceptable meals and a place to sleep. If her clothes become too small, the master replaces them, just something economic but she didn't need luxurious clothes. She had all she needed in life for now.
The master however, seemed to like money a lot. She couldn't understand why.
"What's that in your hand there, Diana?" The master asked.
"3 silvers sir." Diana mumbled, she had had the integrity to hide the gold coin under her pillow. "The nobles gave them to me..."
The older man's voice hardened greedily: "Well you do realize that all the profit generated by any of our singular dancers must come back to the troupe master right? It's to be transformed into a collective and equal salary to everyone." The master frowned "You have no use for Obelian coins as we return to Siodonna anyway. Hand them to me."
Diana surrendered the coins, she knew better than resist: "Here you go sir."
"Thank you Diana. Rest well. We have a show early tomorrow."
"Of course." Diana nodded as the master stood and walked out.
Her hands curled around the gold coin given to her by Penelope. She never saw a gold coin before therefore she felt like she could stare at it forever. She had no intention of using it to buy anything. Not the only gold coin she had. She liked to stare at it, play with it, trace the markings, that was all.
Proof that she met the prince and his promised. Two lovely people of her age who are living such different lives...
'They seemed to be close.' She recalled, smiling swiftly 'Will I meet someone and marry too? Will we be in love and live happily? Or will I be a dancer for master's profits forever?'
She recalled how her colleagues, much much older women, used to complain day and night about how they'd like to stop dancing. They complained about their aching backs and feet, their sore muscles, and their fatigue endlessly. They wished they did something less tiring for a living.
None of them particularly liked dancing. They just mastered every choreography to perfection.
They talked about things young Diana did not understand. Like how after shows, men take them into bars and then 'fuck', though Diana did not know the meaning of the word. It was a bad word, as Sophie had said. A vulgar word that no one should say. When she asked, the master waved her off and said it involved a lot of kissing, that was all. He also added it was also a good money generator. And staff generator too strangely. Diana never understood what he meant. How could people earn money by kissing...She always wondered. And what did he mean by staff generator?
She knew of Brian, who was Samantha's son and was fatherless, he worked for the master as well. There were also Mary and Cosette, both fatherless as well strangely, who were born to Celeste and Delphine, two of the eldest dancers here who are also learning to become dancers themselves too.
And then there was Sophie, who had been in the dance troop all her life, she even knew the last master before he sold the troop over to the current master. Sophie is now 80. She'd been here all her life. She teaches dance choreography and hair braiding.
Then there was another woman, a bit more joyful, named Agrippine, who had a husband back in Siodonna and always talked cheerily about seeing him and their young son again.
Diana wasn't sure that was the path she wished to take forever. All she ever wanted to do was dance. Being here allowed her to do as much. The dance troop gave her the unique occasions to perform in front of a crowd, an audience.
But even if she liked it here, she wanted to have something else in life too.
~•~•~•~•
By the time Roselia got scolded for the 4th time now, I snapped. Roselia was not the purest child on the planet but I couldn't stand the teacher, whose name I've now discovered is mme Sauriol, scolding a 7 year old girl for being incapable of performing 4 minutes of dizzying steps.
"Mme Sauriol." I calmly said from where I sat, my voice loud enough to reach them on the dance floor "I believe that you may be a little bit too hard on Roselia."
Mme Sauriol looked at me with surprise and a wee bit of offense while Roselia looked at me as if I was crazy to defend her.
"I am the teacher here, miss Penelope." She stated "I am the one that directs my own 'conduite'. After all, your father handpicked me for what I could teach you all."
"Roselia is 7." I said "You can't expect her to master this overnight. Please at least take in consideration that dancing with someone as tall as you isn't easy task, mme Sauriol."
Jeannette's aunt is a terrible being, but I'm hereby defending her because she is a child and unfortunately, my little sister.
"It is preferable to have miss Roselia successfully dance through a whole soirée, don't you think?" Mme Sauriol scoffed "I have a deadline till this weekend for her to master this. As you recall, you have an event next week."
Well no... I do not recall. Perhaps Penelope noted it down on a calendar somewhere before I inhabited her? Oh who am I kidding, it's not as if she prepared herself to host me...
"Yes I remember. Roselia will certainly master it by this weekend. I am just persuaded she won't progress any faster with you, mme Sauriol, relentlessly scolding and tiring her. Some encouragements would be welcome." I glanced at my sister "Am I correct, Lia?"
"You are right." She nodded.
"I believe it is better that we put today's lesson to an end." I decided, looking at mme Sauriol "We'll see you tomorrow, mme."
"You do not decide when the class ends, miss Penelope." She said strictly.
Stubborn old lady...
"But I can ask my father to fire you and find us a more suitable dance teacher with a more favored way of teaching." I said. "I'll have Roselia practice, you needn't worry."
Penelope had noted in her diary that whatever escapes her mouth that somebody outside her family may hear could be used against her in noble society where everyone has to watch everyone. Where everyone is better than everyone. I had tried to send her home calmly so that I wouldn't spread a rumor about Penelope Judith being a woman with anger issues and a student unable to respect her teacher. If bad rumors spread out after this they'll be about mme Sauriol.
"What you did today is very offensive, miss Penelope." Mme Sauriol grunted but still picked up her bags "I've been working hard to make you two decent dancers at the ball. The two of you are very ungrateful children."
Well what else is new...
"And you don't deserve the money our father pays you." I said, smiling. "All you are doing is give Roselia heel pain and exhausting her before her violin lessons with little to no progress. Of course, if you don't give the poor child a break once every while, that was the only possible outcome. I'm tired too mme Sauriol, if you would please leave... Otherwise, I'll be sure to tell my friends at my tea times that mme Sauriol should not be taken in consideration as possible dance teacher. I find your teachings quite inconvenient. We'll see you tomorrow."
This was a strategy frequently used by Penelope in the past. It shouldn't seem so weird to everyone. Thanks to their father's business connections, Penelope and Roselia had the girls from the most titled and influential houses at her tea table. A bad word about a teacher that spreads across that particular table and that teacher's career ends.
"Hmphf." Mme Sauriol said as she leaves.
Roselia sat down on a velour bench nearby and I sat down next to her.
"What a dreadful lesson..." she sighed.
"Yourself did not practice enough anyway. You did deserve scolding. Perhaps just not at every minute."
"Whatever. I don't know where you get the motivation to work so hard for everything Penelope." Roselia crossed her arms and pouted "You're always so determined."
"Yes indeed."
"It was very strange that you actually defended me today." She said "I thought you wanted me to be as hardworking as you were."
"I was...yeah." I said "But I realized that all this hardwork is keeping us from enjoying life. And childhood is very short. We need to study and workhard, always, but I think I overdid myself to the point where everyone must've thought I was unreasonable."
"Like Roger?" Lia scoffed.
"Exactly. See our cousin is perfect in his studies yet he takes time for other things too. I want you to enjoy your childhood, Lia." I said "Would you like to take a walk with me outside? It's a beautiful day."
There was a very beautiful garden outside of the Judith's manor. It's perfect to get to know her better. I never went outside a lot in my past life. I lived in the greatest city on earth yet I never saw its wonderful gardens.
"A walk?" Roselia gripped the edges of her dress "I don't particularly like walks."
Oh my god Roselia, it's just the garden, not a 10km hike in the mountains.
"Please, just one. We could both use some sun!" I pleaded.
"Since when are you interested in the sun?"
"I'm not. I'm interested in you. Let's do some new things together before our violin teacher arrives."
"I don't know, Penelope, last time we walked it was with mother..."
I sense some deep history here. Now that I think of it, I wonder how my own true mother is dealing with my death in the real world. I shrugged off the question, I wanted to commit myself to my new life as Penelope Judith. I didn't want to dwell on things in the past.
But also, oh my god, it is just a walk.
"After she died you just doubled your resolve, Penelope and we both rarely went outside unless it's for events." Roselia said in a sad voice. "I just don't want to go out and be sad."
"Yeah it's been long..." I said, since there was nothing else to say."
"The longest year of my life." Roselia agreed.
So she had been dead 1 year. I'll have to find the specific time in Penelope's diary then. I hadn't had much time to decipher everything yet though.
"So. What do you say? Shall we go?" I nudged her.
"Okay then. Just five minutes." Roselia sighed and got up.
--
That night, while Jane was brushing my hair, I asked:
"Hey Jane. Do you know anything about mother that I perhaps do not know?"
Surprised, Jane stopped brushing my hair and I saw it on the mirror's reflection that her eyes turned sad. She resumed brushing at a slower pace.
"I did not know her well, miss. I was assigned to you, not Countess Eliza." She said slowly "Don't you remember enough about her miss?"
"No not really. It appears that I wanted to forget and I had indeed forgotten much. Remind me what she was like." I ordered.
Eliza did not interest me very much, but if people question me, I best have decent answers for them. I can't connect with the mother of my incarnation when I know that my own mother is still alive in France. I know that she loved me. I didn't care one bit for Eliza.
"Countess Eliza was a strict woman and she invested greatly into you and Miss Roselia's education. She always wanted you two to rank highest as possible in society and always asked for the two of you to be on your best most presentable behavior. She really wanted the two of you to be more than just countesses."
"A count's rank isn't exactly low." I observed.
"No indeed. It is very honorable. But you could always reach for even higher."
What you have is already good, but always need even more, because 'more' exists. That's not avarice or greed that's ambition.
"Do I look like her?" I finally asked.
"You did not inherit her looks no. Both you and miss Roselia inherited from your father, but your temper does indeed remind us of her. You hold your resolve, determination and high ambitions from her."
So Penelope was influenced by her mother...I see. So was Roselia, but when Eliza died she turned to Penelope who was no different than Eliza anyway, having already become too much like her. Both Roselia and Penelope then ended up like a sister duo of noble ruthless villainesses with ambitions like no other. Since I'm now Penelope, I'm going to turn Roselia, Jeannette's hateful aunt, into a normal being capable of appreciating the joys of life.
"Jane, did she love me?" I asked, just to know for sure how Penelope might've talked about her. I
"As I said, miss, she cared deeply for you and miss Roselia." Jane sighed.
"Were she and father a happy couple?"
"It was an arranged marriage. I believe there were no feelings involved. It was a business arrangement like every other. Nevertheless they formed quite an efficient pair."
Efficient was a rathe specific term and not common to couples, I mentally noted.
"I see."
"The count was very disturbed by her loss." Jane added. "He could've remarried but didn't."
I nodded.
"Why were you asking?" Jane asked.
"Jane, remind me the cause of her death?" I asked more softly, avoiding her question while at it. "Actually remind me everything."
Jane stopped brushing my hair altogether and looked down.
"W-Well...She collapsed after having drank poisoned tea one day." She said softly "She recuperated after like it was just a warning, but it reduced her health considerably. Then on one night she left." She paused for a while before continuing "Us, the staff were waken up at night since we had to rush to go get the doctor and keep the count under control as well as tend to the countess...So we knew before you and your sister... Daisy and I spent the rest of the night wondering how we should tell you and miss Roselia."
"Must've been hard on you." I observed.
"You were the one who lost someone, miss." Jane smiled softly "Why did you ask me all those questions?"
"Because I realized there are changes to be made in mine and Lia's life." I answered "Mother died after having had a decent but busy and not very enjoyable life. She doesn't have much to tell after having died. Am I wrong?"
"Well...She was always such a respectable countess. Indeed, I never heard her speak of pleasure before."
"If I were to die tomorrow, at least I could say I laughed happily today. She can't. Where we are now, I don't think Lia and I are happy."
"We try our best to-" Jane looked panic.
"The fault doesn't dwell in you or Daisy." I assured her. "It's in me and Roselia. I think we don't enjoy life enough. Even our cousin teases us about that and now his words are finally hitting me in the face. We'll grow into respectable nobles, I'll still make sure of it, but there's so much more this world has to offer. Staying focused on just one thing is ridiculous."
"So I'm not getting fired?" Jane asked.
"Who said anything about getting fired?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Well with all your questions testing me..."
"Now you're the one being ridiculous. Can't I just ask questions because I feel like it?" I snorted "You can dispose of yourself now, I'll put myself to bed. Tell Daisy tomorrow that Roselia can keep the dress she borrowed from me."
"I think she never meant to give it back anyway." Jane confessed.
"Oh well I might as well hand it to her." I shrugged "Go now. Rest well."
"Good night my lady."
--
"Good night, mother." Claude said as he left his mother's room and let the maids enter and tend to her.
He walked back down to his room, lost in thoughts. On his way he crossed paths with the empress. A woman who was always dressed expensively with slightly curled dark brown hair always in some sort of complicated coiffure with many jewels in her hair. She was walking by with two ladies in waiting and a tired looking Anastacius behind.
When the empress came across him, her hands clutched the fan she was holding across her face with much distaste. Her eyes showed some sort of disgust and although Claude could not see it, he was sure the rest of her face was twisted into some kind of grimace.
She let out some sort of scoff, clearly looking down on him while only walking faster. Claude too, picked up the pace, but was forced to bow respectfully. He knew better than to speak with the empress in any sort of way, but if he didn't show some respect, it would've been bad for him.
When he came across his brother, he noticed that Anastacius looked like some sort of defeated puppy. If Anastacius had a tail Claude was fairly sure it was between his legs. He looked like he had just been intensely scolded by his mother, or perhaps both his parents. Undoubtedly was he going to get even more lectured once in his mother's room.
"Brother are you alright?' Claude asked as they both stopped simultaneously.
"Yeah... I'll be fine-" Anastacius replied, looking down.
"Anastacius!" The empress had stopped and had snapped angrily, looking back at the two boys "Come here. Now."
Her tone was so threatening Anastacius's mouth shut immediately as he gave Claude one last look before following hurriedly behind his mother.
Claude returned to his own room, thinking about how Anastacius and him had very different troubles in life. Claude never got scolded before, people just always looked down on him and they would sometimes mistreat him. Growing up, he got used to it. A bit. He just had to do his best in his studies and stay clear of the emperor and the empress's side, and most importantly, to not complain. If he complained, THEN the emperor might start scolding him. Anastacius on the other hand was under constant stress coming from his parents. Whenever he gained bad results he got terribly scolded and sometimes Claude could see some bruises on him. He had less than Claude, of course, but those bruises seemed to hurt his brother more on the inside, to hurt his dignity. He was constantly under the pressure of succeeding to their father who regarded him as the only heir.
'I hope brother recovers soon.'
Claude laid down in his bed as soon as he finished changing his clothes. He knew that Anastacius talking with him was only going to intensify the latter's problems.
He decided to focus on another matter. He took off the bracelet Penelope had handed him and stared at it, placing it on his pillow. He didn't expect to see her at the festival of the other day. He was already surprised that he had permission to go with Anastacius outside. He wanted to run away the second he saw Roselia at the cafe. Most of the time he saw Penelope, Roselia was near. And so the thought of meeting Penelope again terrified him.
The girl who he will marry later on, Penelope Judith, that his father and the empress chose for him, was not a friendly person. Despite the two of them being same aged, Penelope was always taller than him. Her attitude was also cruelly cold towards everyone. She didn't seem happy upon their first meeting, she always seemed a bit disappointed. Everything in her way of acting and speaking intimidated him. When he asked Felix's mother, his nanny, what marriage was supposed to be like and she awkwardly explained the essentials of it to him, he didn't feel comfortable knowing he would have to marry Penelope. Nevertheless he promised himself that he'd give them a comfortable life.
But while his brother had talked to Roselia on a cheery tone (Because Anastacius was easier to be around), Claude was focusing on the action happening outside. He had watched in awe as the dancer his age, the most beautiful girl he had ever seen with golden silky locks of hair and rare pink eyes matching the gem on her forehead, skipped and twirled around to the rhythm. He felt as if her soul was calling out to his. She danced like the most delicate flower in the world, but with the energy and power of a thunderstorm. He couldn't rip his eyes off of her. Diana, they said her name was.
As the crowd started to dissipate, Roselia had dragged Anastacius and him outside, saying Penelope was there. That was his first shock, that Penelope would ever bother with little shows like these. She who only ever went to big theatres to see the latest hits or ballets. He never thought this would be her taste. Never would he have thought she'd like this. His second surprise was noting with surprise that the beautiful Diana was speaking with her and her white haired cousin. They strangely all seemed on a good mood. When she saw him however, Penelope seemed a bit surprised too.
He had never felt so uncomfortable. Anastacius was absolutely no help, forcing him to say hello. Between his fiancee and the pretty girl, Claude wanted to bury his head into the ground. Such was his despair when the lovely pink eyed dancer decided to leave. He liked being near her, she seemed like a free soul, a happy butterfly. He had noticed her uncomfortable position at being in presence of so many nobles, she who was just a dancer. He understood why she wanted to leave. Thankfully Anastacius was hellbent on enjoying their free time outside and so he had dragged everyone behind him as he ran around, eating everything. Thanks to that Claude didn't have to speak more with Penelope.
At the end however, when they split into little groups and Anastacius and Roger went off, Claude had hoped that Roselia would stay with Penelope and him. He would've been perfectly content with walking behind them as they talked and gossiped about stuff, or even just waiting outside as they shop, that way he wouldn't have to to talk and things wouldn't be too awkward. Penelope however seemed to shoo Roselia away and the youngest sister seemed to want to shop alone anyway, glad to split the money of her sister.
The talk with Penelope wasn't as awkward as he thought it would be. For the first time since they met she asked about him when normally they sorta just...don't talk. He felt more comfortable around her. 'A change of heart', she said. He was afraid it would only last for a bit and after a while she'd return to her bitter self, but she stayed that way until the end of the day, it was almost pleasant to be around her. She even apologized for all her bad attitude. Claude couldn't help smiling, thinking back on her apology and how he teased her. He didn't like teasing people, because there was almost no one for him to tease except for Felix, but he did allow himself to tease Penelope that one time.
They were also both planning to find Diana again, which they did. The young girl seemed very flustered in his presence, especially after realizing she was in the presence of an engaged couple, but somehow Penelope managed to get everyone at ease. As Claude felt uncomfortable sitting down next to a girl he didn't know, he sat down next to Penelope on the sidewalk, which was very strange since Penelope didn't emit one complaint, not even about the dust on her dress. What surprised him even more was that Penelope bought hot chocolate for everybody, she who only drank the finest thing on the menu. Her attitude was indeed very different.
He had listened to Diana's story, leaving all the talking to the girls, only speaking when it concerned him. He was slightly saddened at the news of Diana leaving, only getting to see her again next year. He felt close to her despite having exchanged very few words. He just never met someone so cheery and bright...So flawlessly perfect. She allowed him to kiss her hand goodbye, but after that they both reddened to the point where he regretted it immediately as awkwardness rose. And then he watched her run back into the hotel, answering the call of her master.
Claude twirled the bracelet in his hands a bit, finally realizing that he was repeating the same movements Diana had produced back then.
'This bracelet...'
Penelope would hiss at someone who'd buy her a bracelet with only one gem on it, yet she herself bought these handmade things? And she gave one to HIM?! She never gave him anything. Nobody ever gave him anything. Yet his cold fiancee did. Was she serious about turning over a new leaf?
In the dark, Claude traced the thin lines of the braided merchandise, thinking about how he'll see her next week.
'For how long can you keep this up, Penelope, before returning to your gloomy self...'
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