Woodstock, Oxfordshire - 1998 (Louis)

Subject: Woodstock, Oxfordshire - 1998 (Louis) Sun Dec 12, 2021 11:46 am

The chill of the countryside was unrelenting that winter, insisting on sneaking into the Sheridan home despite all the closed windows and doors. The sky was grey overheard, or so Vanessa imagined given the amount of light entering through the firmly sealed windows. Things like lack of light and air had stopped bothering her a long time ago.

"Shall I build a fire, Your Ladyship," a footman asked, jerking her from her thoughts and for a moment, Vanessa couldn't recall where she was. The man was a complete stranger for a minute as her mind struggled to keep up with what had happened.

Most days she managed to deal with the world in a passable manner. Most days she stood up and functioned and went to check the nursery which would now always be empty. Most days she could carry on a conversation and ignore the sense of loss so deeply engraved in her that loss was all she was. No personality, no spirit, Vanessa was simply a being of regret and sorrow.

But that was for only herself to know. The outside world needed to see a brave, stoic woman who was slowly reintegrating herself back in society. The letters from France tucked in her desk drawer were evidence of the correspondence that had increased somewhat over the last three years, even if Vanessa had refused to go to Versailles to see Grandmere and the people responsible for ending her life.

Vanessa lived out her days as graciously as she could but life had ended at fifteen. Just before her sixteenth nameday, the witch had turned her back to the world, waiting, waiting...

In vain.

"M'lady, the fire?"

"Yes, go ahead."

The staff could build the biggest fire in the world and it wouldn't be enough. Fire and blankets had never been her warmth. And in the last ten years, it was one of the few things that hadn't changed.

________________________________________________

Come Plot With Me <3

Woodstock, Oxfordshire - 1998 (Louis) Rsz_ve10

Subject: Re: Woodstock, Oxfordshire - 1998 (Louis) Sun Dec 12, 2021 11:48 am

Ten years had been a world of time to find the thing you needed the most. Ten years should have been an ample amount of time when you knew precisely where the girl would be if you went to her. But ten years had taught Louis that Vanessa did not wish to see him. She had not replied to the note he had left at the Clement Manor the day he had been shipped off to the army, and she had not replied two years later when he had tried again.

After waiting for so long for a reply, most men would have given up on the world and conceded that fate simply didn't want them to be together. No, Vanessa did not want them to be together, that was the only thing that would have stopped Vanessa from writing to him for the last ten years.

But even if his head told him that much, Louis would not believe it until he heard the words form Vanessa's lips.

The awards ceremony had been nothing less than painful to watch as some of the younger members of the military force were given their medals for outstanding bravery. Decorated heroes had never been the Colonel's forte, and thus he'd become not only the youngest Colonel in the French army, but the least decorated too. Louis did not care for medals, which showed as a mere one medal was pinned to his chest by comparison of the dozen on the Commander of the Army's chest.

As the presentation grew to a slow halt, Louis excused himself from the hall, nodding as people reminded him that the dinner would be starting at five, prompt. The man nodded, telling them that he would be there, and then his back was turned, placing the black and gold cap on to his head and walking firmly towards the gate. There was no intention of returning, there never had been. He'd spent ten years waiting, and with his birthday here, he was not waiting around.

He'd barely walked through the front gate of the army barracks and turned the corner before his form twisted and left the ground with a soft pop. One destination in mind. The sound of gravel beneath his feet announced he had arrived, and the notion of rain was clear as it bounced form the top of his cap. Same old England, even in the spring it was raining.

The youngest Clement moved towards the front door, ringing the bell once as he carefully took the cap off, tucking it underneath his right arm as he waited. It didn't take long for someone to open the door, confusion written on their face at the man before them. "Good afternoon sir, can I help you?" The man before him asked, searching the uniform for some recognition of the place of the man. The uniform was not British and the man before him didn't seem to be able to place it.

"I'm here to see Miss Sheridan." Louis spoke clearly, but not so that it would travel. The army had done many things to him, and he knew all to well how to use his voice to get precisely the right authority across.

"And your name, sir?" The man before him asked, letting Louis through the door, though it likely wasn't standard procedure to let someone in before knowing who they were. Louis couldn't help but like the power he'd been given.

"Just tell her that it's someone she'd want to see." Louis told the butler, following him down the hall to the withdrawing room. The Frenchman moved towards the window as the butler explained he would be back shortly. Louis merely nodded, taking in the vast expanse of the house. He'd never been before, or not that he could remember, and it wasn't impressive to him any more. Nothing was particularly impressive to Louis.

So the man stood waiting, appearing to be looking out the window, but his eyes weren't seeing the grounds before him. No, the memories swam clear in his mind, as if only yesterday. They had not stopped hurting him over the years, and he doubted they would stop hurting today.

But at least today he would know where he stood.

________________________________________________

~ Lord Clement ~ Profile ~ 55 ~

Thank you to the amazing Ruby for the signatures! <3

Subject: Re: Woodstock, Oxfordshire - 1998 (Louis) Sun Dec 12, 2021 11:48 am

Another soft knock on the study door interrupted Vanessa's thoughts once again and for a moment, the witch directed a cold gaze to the footman, believing him responsible for the intrusion once again. However, the young man was still busy with a fire that couldn't have been too hard to light. No, this time it was the Sheridan's butler, clearing his throat politely at the study door.

"My Lady, a gentleman has just arrived and is requesting audience."

"Please inform him father isn't home. He can pay another visit when father returns." Vanessa had already lost interest in the Butler when the man cleared his throat a second time.

"The gentleman requests an audience with you, My Lady."

This did make the brunette look up. Vanessa hadn't had visitors in... No, that didn't merit thinking.

"What did he say his name was?'

"He didn't, My Lady, but he appears to be in the service. Of which country I cannot say."

A small frown of confusion creased the woman's forehead. A man in service, come to see her. It wasn't that the idea was particularly strange, it was that strange things, things period, had stopped happening to her. Vanessa was on a strict socialization schedule these days which allowed for plenty of visits to knitting circles in other women's withdrawing rooms but one that did not merit a strange visitor that May evening.

"Very well, I'll be along shortly," she dismissed the butler in clipped tones, knowing he would arrange for tea and all the other nonsense that went with receiving visitors. Vanessa hadn't had the courage to greet guests without her father until now but she supposed that was another thing she would have to get used to.

And she had to start somewhere.

Taking a look in the long narrow mirror affixed to the back of the room, Vanessa smoothed down the dark blue dress she wore, only giving a sparing glance to the face which had begun hardening into a mask almost ten years ago. Her eyes remained dull but otherwise she appeared presentable enough. With a last look at the ghost in the glass, Vanessa made her way to the withdrawing room.

It was all mechanical, nothing was done because she felt like it. Ten years ago her will had crumbled to dust and three years ago that dust had blown away in the wind. And nothing reminded Vanessa of how cold and alone she was than this big, empty house. No matter how many fires burned and how often the servants were directed to keep the windows closed, the coldness where her heart once was would never go away.

Entering the withdrawing room softly, the witch noted her visitor standing by the window, his back turned to her. She supposed the scene outside was pretty, though she couldn't say. The witch rarely saw things in the present these days.

"Good evening, I'm afraid father -" And then the form in front of her registered, silencing her completely.

Because suddenly, she wasn't the only ghost in this house.

________________________________________________

Come Plot With Me <3

Subject: Re: Woodstock, Oxfordshire - 1998 (Louis) Sun Dec 12, 2021 11:49 am

How long Louis stood waiting didn't matter, he'd been used to standing perfectly still for hours at a time for the last ten years, today would be no different. But like all the times he'd stood perfectly still, his mind ran through the memories of the time he'd been happy, truly happy. His childhood and his first four years at Beauxbaton. Completely happy, without a care in the world.

The soft sound of Vanessa's footsteps drawing closer had not changed over the years, and for that much he couldn't help but let a small smile touch his lips. Even after all these years he could tell the difference, it was almost as if she'd never left.

"Good evening, I'm afraid father -"

The sound of her voice was not the same, emotion had gone from her voice, and very slowly, Louis closed his eyes, willing her to sound like she had at the age of fifteen. Full of life, happy with everything she had. Not... hollow. Opening his eyes, Louis blinked the tears that threatened to fall away, concentrating for a brief moment on the maze outside the window before he turned around.

"I only came for you." Louis whispered, not daring to speak to loudly in case she fled from him. He couldn't say anything more as he took her in. Noting how she was older, but as beautiful as she had always been. Except for her eyes, her eyes were the part that gave away that she was no longer the Vanessa he'd grown up with. No longer the girl he'd left behind ten years ago.

________________________________________________

~ Lord Clement ~ Profile ~ 55 ~

Thank you to the amazing Ruby for the signatures! <3

Subject: Re: Woodstock, Oxfordshire - 1998 (Louis) Sun Dec 12, 2021 11:51 am

Ten years.

A hundred and twenty months.

Five hundred and twenty weeks. Thousands of days, minutes and seconds.

And the sound of his voice was still the same.

This wasn't real, the witch reminded herself as the familiar pain made itself known deep inside her. The healers had called it delivery complications. Little did they know childbirth was nothing compared to losing the most important part of yourself. To learning to live without the most important part of yourself.

Vanessa stood frozen as her visitor turned, her eyes seeing the face but her mind refusing to believe. Ten years were too long. Far too long.

For too long to have lived without drawing breath.

"Louis..." the whisper was softer than an exhale, softer than a wish to the stars, a plea to the gods. But it was still there.

He was still there.

He had kept his promise.

________________________________________________

Come Plot With Me <3

Subject: Re: Woodstock, Oxfordshire - 1998 (Louis) Sun Dec 12, 2021 11:51 am

"Louis..."

The Frenchman allowed the smile to come back to his lips at the sound of his name from her lips. Only a very small one because he was still afraid of what she might say. What she might do. Waiting a moment to see what she would do, Louis took the time to take one more look at her. Her dull eyes taking him in as if he were going to go again, but no outburst came.

His name was all Vanessa could manage.

If standing still had been difficult enough, moving towards her was harder, but Louis pressed through the barrier of fear, depositing his cap on the side as he moved closer to her. It wasn't until he was stood right before Vanessa that Louis' arms moved from his side, towards the girl he'd left despite all his promises to her. Carefully he drew her towards him, noting that years could change many things, but Vanessa would always fit in to his arms.

"I'm so sorry, Ven..."

________________________________________________

~ Lord Clement ~ Profile ~ 55 ~

Thank you to the amazing Ruby for the signatures! <3

Subject: Re: Woodstock, Oxfordshire - 1998 (Louis) Sun Dec 12, 2021 11:51 am

The brunette watched in a haze as her cousin, her cousin whom she was sure she would never see again, moved towards her. His movements mirroring her own feelings. Ten years and a few steps separated the two but for a moment, it was as though they stood on the precipice of different worlds.

He in a a world without her and she in a world without him.

Until he clewed the gap.

"I'm so sorry, Ven..."

And then it happened. All those years between them melted away as Vanessa flung herself into his arms just as she used to do when she was young. Nothing had changed, they hadn't changed. The silent tears that began in her eyes but originated from her heart were the same. His chest, through the uniform and the years gone by, was the same too.

And for the first time in years, Vanessa let herself sob as she clung to him, gripping him as if her life depended on it.

As if he would disappear at any moment.

________________________________________________

Come Plot With Me <3

Subject: Re: Woodstock, Oxfordshire - 1998 (Louis) Sun Dec 12, 2021 11:53 am

The weight of Vanessa against him was the simple reassurance he'd needed over the years. It was never her decision not to reply, how could it have been when she clung to him so tightly? She'd never received his letter if her tears were anything to go by, she would have known everything, she would have been there if she'd have seen the letter.

And what a fool he'd been to believe otherwise.

The tears that he'd held in began their descent of his cheeks as he held Vanessa close to him. There was no need to hide it any more, because Vanessa knew exactly how much pain he'd been in the last ten years. "I'm so sorry..." He whispered again, kissing the side of her head. Louis had no clue what she was doing with her life these days, no clue of her responsibilities, but right now he simply didn't care.

Vanessa was his, always his and he had faith in her to never change that.

"I wrote you a letter, Ven..." Louis whispered, the tears falling silently down his cheeks, but his voice showing that he was raw with emotion. "The night I left, I left a letter with my parents... you never replied..." He explained, taking a moment to try to calm his breathing. "And another note two years later..."

The question was there without asking her directly. Why? Just, why?

________________________________________________

~ Lord Clement ~ Profile ~ 55 ~

Thank you to the amazing Ruby for the signatures! <3

Subject: Re: Woodstock, Oxfordshire - 1998 (Louis) Sun Dec 12, 2021 11:54 am

The tears continued, thick and unending down her face and into his uniform, letting her know how little had changed over the years. They had finally come full circle, hadn't they? With her crying in his arms as he attempted words of comfort. But Vanessa didn't want comfort. She wanted to cry.

She wanted to cry away all the pain of the past, wash away all the sorrow that had accumulated inside her, sullying her soul and hardening her expressions, dulling her eyes and sapping her energy.

Because finally, finally, she wasn't incomplete anymore. The place where her heart used to be was filled once again.

"I wrote you a letter, Ven..."

The witch shook her head against him letting him know there was no letter. Never had been. Momentary fear gripped her, fear that he would not believe her, that he would be angry. Fear that propelled her to reach for his hand.

The age old instinct to reach for Louis' hand when she needed to calm down.

Slowly, clumsily, uncertainly, her fingers entwined with his, finally home where they belonged.

And Vanessa Sheridan drew breath, her first breath in ten years that wasn't accompanied by searing pain inside her chest.

________________________________________________

Come Plot With Me <3

Subject: Re: Woodstock, Oxfordshire - 1998 (Louis) Sun Dec 12, 2021 11:54 am

The shake of her head when he mentioned the letters told him that she had never received his letter. Neither of them. Louis' eyes grew dark at that fact. He'd asked for only one thing on the day his family had thrown him from the house. That they hand a letter to Vanessa so that she would know everything she needed to know. Where he was going, that he wouldn't be able to come back because he had to stay there for so many months.

Telling her that she could come to him and he would shelter her from his parents.

From Dominic.

From the world.

Telling her how much he loved and needed her, and apologising that this time he could not take her with him like he intended, but they could still get away from everything. Like they'd always dreamed of doing since they were very small. But she'd seen none of it.

Anger could have taken his body over had it not been for the simple fact Vanessa's fingers found his not a moment later. Replacing all thoughts with the one that told him this was all meant to be. And so very slowly, his thumb brushed the back of her hand like it had so many years ago. The sound of the door opening made Louis look up, watching the butler take them in and then hurriedly lay the table with tea that Vanessa must have called for.

Louis didn't move away though, staying firmly in his spot, hiding Vanessa from the world. Other people didn't matter in this moment, especially not the staff of the house. Once the older man was gone, mumbling a sorry, Louis moved Vanessa towards the sofa, taking a seat himself before he drew her in to his lap. Decorum could fuck itself for all he cared, he was back, and there was absolutely no way he was letting her go. Not again.

"I didn't want to leave you, Ven." Louis whispered, his thumb still brushing the back of her hand. "They wouldn't let me see you, nobody at all..."

________________________________________________

~ Lord Clement ~ Profile ~ 55 ~

Thank you to the amazing Ruby for the signatures! <3

» Woodstock, Oxfordshire - 1989 (Dominic)
» Woodstock, Oxfordshire - 1999 (Louis)
» Woodstock, Oxfordshire - 1999 (Louis)
» Woodstock, Oxfordshire - 1999 (Louis)
» Woodstock, Oxfordshire - 1999 (Louis -- Mature TWs Within)