The Palace of Versailles, 2009 (Louis)

Subject: The Palace of Versailles, 2009 (Louis) Sun Dec 12, 2021 1:15 pm

It had been three years since the death of Lissette Clement, three years since the birth of Elenore Lissette, and three years since the introduction of Muggle Technology into the wizarding world. The stocks and bonds, financial investments and profit revenues were staggering. If the wealth associated with the name Clement had been limitless before, now it was infinite. More than the profits from companies soldiering on into the brave new world of Muggle gadgets running on wizarding power, the rights to sole production were the cause of this implosive source of wealth. It was a good thing no one in the House had ever bothered counting money in the first place because they certainly wouldn’t have been able to do it now, post technological evolution brought about by House Clement.

At first, it seemed that the progress would be hindered by Vanessa’s health after the arrival of Elenore but the stars had aligned perfectly for everything to fall into place. Vanessa had improved enough over two months to read over files and outline ideas even from her sick bed, Elenore had been taken in wonderfully by her Grandmere and Jacques, far from being bored with financial talk reveled in it. As the child grew from three to four to five, his nightly stories were replaced with talks of investment, with riddles of banking, with brain teasers and puzzles about wealth management and most of all, the child knew when to listen. As much as he looked like his father, the expression he had on his face of polite concentration was exactly his mother’s.

After a year, Vanessa had finally been able to walk again, walk on her own and not tire herself out immediately. The progress from there was fast, reaching to almost normal stamina within six more months and being completely herself by another three moons. Unfortunately the almost two years it had taken her to fully recover were the almost two years she had lost with little Elenore. For as much as she had tried to spend time with the baby, it had not gone well. The youngest Clement just could not find a way to be comfortable around her parents or her brother, instead asking for her Grandmere or her nanny. It was probably Vanessa’s own fault for not giving the baby as much time as she could have, and she was extremely grateful to Maman for stepping in and taking on the task of raising a child once again.

But Elenore’s personal preference never stopped Vanessa from trying. From arranging parties for her little princess to trying to start her on a small piano at two and a half, Vanessa did all she could to make up for her absence in the child’s early days. Jacques was quite perplexed at first, asking his mother why they included Elenore in family activities when she clearly had no wish to be a part of them but his mother had gently explained that Elenore was special, and needed more care. It was true in some ways, Elenore was shaping up to be much more of an ordinary toddler compared to her brother. She did not meet any of the milestones set by the Clement heir but the child did seem to have an ear for music, something Vanessa was doing her best to encourage.

It also seemed that Little Elenore was a risk taker, happier when she was outdoors than in the confines of the palace. In an effort to please the three year old, the little family was out on a picnic in the palace grounds today, the children sitting on the picnic blanket with their mother perched at the edge, both giving them space and keeping a close eye. Jacques sat still, perfectly at ease with a rubix cube in his hand. The toy was starting to bore him. Elenore fidgeted where she was, picking out lines in the blanket and getting frustrated when her tiny fingers came up short.

Louis would be home soon, and he would find them here, waiting for him to join their merry band of picnickers. A family meal hadn’t been done for weeks now and they could afford to spend one evening away from work and with their children.

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Come Plot With Me <3

The Palace of Versailles, 2009 (Louis) Rsz_ve10

Subject: Re: The Palace of Versailles, 2009 (Louis) Sun Dec 12, 2021 1:16 pm

The long road to recovery had been one that Louis had taken very seriously. His work had been put on hold for quite some time -- two weeks in the world they lived in was much longer than it was to the normal people of the world -- which meant Louis had a lot to catch up on. After getting back up to speed, he'd spent his days working tirelessly on the project Vanessa and he had worked so tirelessly in to being, and during the evenings, he played the role of father and husband without hesitation.

All the while watching his son develop in a manner he'd never witnessed a child achieve. The milestones came fast, and constantly with Jacques, and he was, as Louis always told Vanessa, perfect in every single way.

Elenore, though, as the years grew, proved not to be quite like her brother. Whilst their daughter was intelligent in her own rights, she was no prodigy like her brother. This, however, was not something Louis cared about. Whilst many people commented on how unlike her brother Elenore was, Louis doted on his daughter, and encouraged her in everything she seemed to take an interest in -- which, Louis had come to realise, often included the less ladylike things in life. Thrill seeking being one of them.

Try as he might, even at her young age, Louis could not bring himself to limit his daughter to the expectations of the young ladies of court. Not yet, at least. Each time he allowed her something she perhaps shouldn't have been given, though, Louis knew without looking to his wife that he was being given a look that, if it had been a word, it would have been the softly exasperated uttering of his name falling from her lips.

And Louis... Louis would always give her the small sheepish smile in apology that said he was not really sorry for spoiling their daughter, but that he knew, one day, it would have to stop. She was Elenore Lissette Clement, there was no way in which he could shape her as any less of a Lady of the House than she'd been destined to fulfill.

As the final part of the meeting of that afternoon finished, Louis stayed back with the remaining few investors, and the accountants, finishing off their final questions with a thinning patience for the day. His mind had been on his evening for the past hour, perhaps more, and the longer he got held up, the more agitated he was becoming. Internally, of course, Louis Clement would never allow anyone to see they were boring him.

Finally, though, he was set free, and Louis escaped to the grounds of the Palace without a second glance to his secretary. Loosening his tie off, only slightly, Louis located the picnic blanket with his small family sat atop it, and a smile touched his lips. Jacques sat with a toy many children his age would never understand, his expression lacking the excitement that had claimed his features when he'd first been handed the toy, and instead looking bored. Elenore, on the other hand, sat playing with the blanket beneath her.

Hearing his footsteps, Jacques turned from his rubix cube, a smile pulling up his lips as he put it down and got to his feet, hurrying over to his Papa and claiming a hug. Louis had just about caught the boy before he hit him, and pulled him up in to a hug before setting him down.

"What have we told you about that, Jacques?" Louis asked the boy, a small twinkle of amusement on his lips as Jacques looked mildly abashed.

"Sorry, Papa." Jacques replied, looking to his Maman briefly before looking back to his father. "But, nobody is here." The boy added, before moving back to the blanket with a smile that showed he'd thought he'd won that argument and Louis supposed he had, in a manner.

Louis moved round to Elenore then, kneeling down as he asked for a hug and a kiss from his daughter who supplied both without a fuss before she added a soft greeting to her father. A smile playing on her lips that was almost as beautiful as her mother's.

Almost.

Finally, Louis sat beside his wife, taking her free hand and pressing a light kiss to her knuckles. "Ma chérie," Louis greeted warmly, his attention turning back to Jacques only a moment later.

"I completed the cube six times today, Papa, Maman keeps doing it in different combinations, but I did it. See?" Jacques said, passing the once more completed cube to his father. It had taken a while to understand that when Jacques did something like this, it was not praise he was seeking. It was a bigger challenge. Louis couldn't help but smile at his son.

"Have you shown Elenore how to play?" Louis asked, at which point Jacques took the cube back and looked to his sister for a moment, then back to his father, and then down at his cube. It took a moment -- in which Louis supposed Jacques was thinking about how to overcome the new problem of teaching a three year old how to solve the cube, before he moved to sit next to his sister, and engaged her in the process of the cube.

Louis watched for a few moments, revelling in the moment, before he turned back to his wife with a fond smile. "He needs something more challenging, again." Louis commented softly, half listening to Jacques explain to Elenore the way to beat the cube. "They have been good today?" Louis added, pretending, just for a moment, that they were a normal family. Or, as normal as a family could be in their situation, of course.

"And you, have you had a good day?" Louis asked, his attention turning to his wife completely for a few moments. After a long day's work, it was Vanessa who made him feel as if the world could wait.

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~ Lord Clement ~ Profile ~ 55 ~

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

Subject: Re: The Palace of Versailles, 2009 (Louis) Sun Dec 12, 2021 1:16 pm

Watching her children, a small smile blossomed on Lady Clement’s features that had nothing to do with the little ones this time. The smile only appeared when she knew Louis was nearby, and sure enough a few moments later, the Lord Clement came into view, tie askew and body language joyous to be free from work. Jacques rose to greet his Papa with enthusiasm, only to be reminded of propriety, something Vanessa never could manage when it came to her son. But then again, her son was already perfect, there was little point in chiding the boy over anything. Elenore, the Lady that she was, waited for her father to come to her and request affection politely before bestowing it, careful with her emotions even at such a young age. The child returned to picking apart the blanket as Louis took a seat next to Vanessa. The picture was complete.

As Jacques demonstrated his dominance of the Rubix Cube, taking on the challenge of teaching it to his sister, Vanessa merely smiled. Elenore was not the least bit interested in Jacques’ toys but Louis would have to learn that by seeing it, she supposed. As he commented on getting their son more challenging toys, she nodded. “I will go myself this time. The Nanny appears to be quite flabbergasted on what to order, she simply says how her children were happy enough with a rattle and a music box at that age.” In fact, Vanessa had been toying with working on her son’s navigational skills. Perhaps a broom? One he could ride in the relative safety of his enchanted playroom. The child was also getting old enough to start horse riding lessons. He may be the youngest in his peer group but the witch had no doubt he would outshine them all.

As expected, a loud thud originated from the children, symbolizing that Elenore had tossed the Rubix Cube as far as her little arms would allow. Her brother looked crossly at her before reaching out an arm. The toy flew back to him obediently. Even at the age of five, Jacques Clement’s control over his magic was singularly brilliant. “Maman,” he called out, half complaining, half exasperated at his sister’s antics.

“Elenore Lissette, darling, we do not throw,” Vanessa cautioned. The little girl looked up upon hearing her name but seemed highly disinterested in the rest of her mother’s words. They seem to satisfy her son though, who quickly set to work realigning the columns his sister had jumbled. “They have been perfect,” she answered the wizard’s earlier question itw as true, her children were always perfect.

“Elenore Lissette and I went to tea at Lady Smallwood’s. She was quite gracious and showed us her antique doll collection.” Vanessa didn’t feel the need to divulge that Elenore had accidentally broken one of of Lady Smallwood’s cherished dolls. It had been a new experience for her, apologizing for something her daughter had done. Vanessa had never found need to apologize for Jacques before, the child had somehow always been impeccably behaved. “Elenore Lissette had a lot of fun playing with the dolls, didn’t we darling?”

“Ugly dolls!” the little girl contributed, not looking up from her blanket where her fingers were carving a pattern of their own. “Bad dolls.” Instead of a reprimand, Vanessa had to give it to her daughter, the porcelain creatures had been quite hideous. The toddler had done everyone a favor by smashing one. Not wanting to go into the full details of the evening, Vanessa changed the topic of conversation seamlessly.

“It’s come to my attention that some of the palace staff are interested in getting phones,” she spoke in an undertone, watching Jacques make another brave attempt to teach his sister the secrets of the mathematical cube. “I heard two of the stable boys talking about saving up to get something called a Blackberry. And from my understanding, it’s one of the products we launched a year ago or so. I don’t like the idea of these things being around the palace, much less around the children.”

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Come Plot With Me <3

Subject: Re: The Palace of Versailles, 2009 (Louis) Sun Dec 12, 2021 1:17 pm

The story of the Nanny's uncertainty on what to bring for Jacques to play with brought a smile to Louis' lips in that moment. Their son was the height of perfection, in truth, outshining his father's achievements with ease as he grew each day. Had Louis have been the eldest, he'd have wagered their achievements would have been parallel, but there would be no way of knowing what it could have been.

"More problem solving would be good. But, sports too." Louis commented softly to Vanessa as he thought about it for a moment. Which ones, he didn't know, but Jacques most definitely needed to develop his body as well as his mind to be a well balanced individual.

As the thud of the Rubix cube sounded, Louis' gaze left Vanessa in favour of seeing Jacques collecting the cube that Elenore had evidently thrown away in a tantrum of disinterest. Frowning to himself slightly at this information, Louis returned his attention to Vanessa as she spoke of their day, only for Elenore to contribute that the dolls were not to her taste. Managing to keep himself from laughing at the comment, Louis turned his attention back to his daughter for a moment. Still playing with the rug, instead of a toy of her own, Louis had to say this was... out of place.

But Louis' attention was taken back by his wife once more as she spoke of the staff wanting to use the technology they had brought in to the wizarding world. He knew before Vanessa had even spoken the words that she was not happy with this news, and even before his wife mentioned the children, Louis' eyes had moved towards the two of them. Blissfully unaware of the technology that was breaking down the private spaces of the world. The technology that was ruining privacy wherever it went, and making socialising without talking face to face more and more glamorised.

"We won't allow them to bring it to the Palace. I said when we started we wouldn't, and I meant it, ma chérie." Louis assured his wife, giving her a small, reassuring smile to say that he meant that. "Nous les protégerons du monde, de ce que je te promets, toujours."

As Elenore shook her head with soft 'non's at her brother as he tried so very hard to explain the game to them, Louis moved towards them, assuring Jacques that it was okay, and that Elenore didn't want to play today. Instead, he guided Jacques to the picnic basket with the instructions to get the food for each of them. Jacques didn't look happy for a moment -- he had not completed the challenge he'd been given by his father, but understood that Elenore was not always easy to play with.

Whilst Jacques was busy, Louis brought his daughter in to his lap, relieving her of her brother's attention. "And where are your toys this evening?" Louis asked, Elenore's brown eyes meeting his where a small smile touched her features.

"Grandmere said that I should leave them in the Palace, Papa." Elenore explained, clearly thinking that her Grandmere's wishes were the ones she must comply with above anything. "They're for inside, not outside." Elenore finalised, looking back to the castle for a moment. The youngest Clement knew herself enough, and was sure of her reasoning, even if her Grandmere was wrong in the eyes of her parents.

"Well," Louis said softly as Jacques arrived with the plates for each of them. "We will just have to get you some toys that Grandmere will allow in the grounds, won't we?"

Elenore gave a soft thank you to her Papa, the smile on her lips radiant in that moment because she was getting something she wanted. Over her head, Louis gave his wife a small look that would convey his displeasure in that knowledge, before it vanished, in favour of helping Jacques give out the food nicely. Servants were all well and good within the Palace walls, but when they were alone, just the four of them, it did well to teach the children a little about how to deal with simple tasks themselves.

Nous les protégerons du monde, de ce que je te promets, toujours. -- We will keep them safe from the world, of that I will promise you, always.

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~ Lord Clement ~ Profile ~ 55 ~

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

Subject: Re: The Palace of Versailles, 2009 (Louis) Sun Dec 12, 2021 1:17 pm

Louis knew her fears before she could even properly name them, stating at once that he would forbid the technology within their home and grounds. The reassurance was one Vanessa hadn't realized she needed until he spoke the words. With the world becoming faster than what people could feasibly keep up with, it was even more imperative now than ever before for their children to learn how to separate useful information from pure drivel, and this technology aimed to get the masses focused on pure drivel. The power of magic a their fingertips and they used it to read glorified magazines and share mundane daily thoughts. If Grandmere had been alive to see this, Vanessa had a feeling she would have wished for death.

When Louis promised to keep the children safe, the young mother nodded softly, she trusted him. He would always keep their little family safe. As he moved to rescue Jacques from the child's current predicament, instead engaging him in another task, Vanessa moved to help the five year old. If he was going to lay out the picnic, so was his mother. Equality began at home, and with children much younger. Jacques was perfectly aware that in their family, no one outranked the other, that everyone had an equally integral role to fill.

As Elenore explained to her Papa why her toys were not here, she could see Louis not taking well to the news. Of course, there wasn't much that could be done about it. They had never taken the stinging hex approach with their children because Jacques had never needed it and Vanessa could not persuade herself to treat her daughter in such a way. Maman also seemed opposed to it though Vanessa knew the former Lady Clement bore marks of her own from her childhood.

So they decided on the path of least resistance, letting Elenore explore and grow as she wished, even if it was highly inconvenient for Vanessa who had to deal with all the little girl's mishaps. It was an educational experience for her, a rare insight to how tired and exasperated normal mothers felt. Lady Smallwood would never have dared show how upset she was at a broken doll by a Clement but her parting words had been an ill disguised joke about karma and how Vanessa was due a difficult child after her insane luck with Master Jacques.

Vanessa had simply thanked the woman and left with little Elenore cradled safely in her arms, defending the clueless child from the judging eyes of the world.

But at least through it all, Elenore had her Grandmere, for whom she behaved perfectly. In a way, it was of great solace to Vanessa who had never had such a warm relationship with Grandmere Lissette. Years after the woman's death, Vanessa had realized that Lady Lissette had always had the House's best interest at heart, and if that meant never being close enough to a child to become a weakness, so be it. Her Elenore would have what she did not. She would have a complete family's love and adoration, as proven by her father occupying her in soft conversation as her mother and brother finished laying out the picnic.

The world wasn't perfect, perhaps it would never be. But out here with her small family eating and laughing and in a state of bliss, it was easier to believe that perfection would not be such an improvement over this moment.

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Come Plot With Me <3

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