Champagne Showers

Subject: Champagne Showers Tue Dec 26, 2017 5:41 pm

After the night of the Game, Mimosa had started to feel weirdly around Jacques at first. That night, Jacques had taken her to the observatory and shown her all the stars named after her, and all the countries that had put those stars on their flags. And after a while, tired out from the day, the child had fallen asleep in his arms, waking up the next day to the realization that he must have carried her to bed after she had fallen unconscious. Mimosa also understood what he’d said last night, if she was so important and valuable, there was no way Elenore could have meant any of those thing she had said last night.

Shaking her head, the nine year old had shook off a chill as the night’s words kept coming back. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized it really was a game, just like she’d told Grandmere. Elenore was the nicest person in the world and Mimosa knew with every ounce of her being that the Clement heiress loved her as much as Jacques did, as much as Grandmere and Grandpere did, as much as Grandpa and Clara and Mercy and Dia and Gaspard and Uncles Seb and Aiden did. Everyone loved Mimosa - that was just how life worked. And Mimosa loved everyone too, especially her Elenore.

So the little witch had silently agreed to play Elenore’s game which involved the older witch not coming to meals and not talking to her. Or rather, trying not to talk to her. If Mimosa ever ran into the other brunette, she would yell loudly and greet her, but those instance became fewer and fewer because Mimosa was so busy. Every day Jacques would take her to explore some different part of the palace. From riding lessons to visiting the armory to get her own tiny leather vest made to the Clement Crypts buried deep underneath the palace, it seemed like there was a new thing on the agenda every day and by the end of the week, it became natural not to see Elenore at all on some days.

But that didn’t mean Mimosa was deprived from contact in any way, in fact Grandmere, Grandpere and Jacques all found loads of extra time to be around her, coming to cheer her on during her riding lessons, waiting with a picnic at the center of the maze through which Jacques was slowly teaching her to navigate, even agreeing to let her wear a somewhat unusual dress for her birthday. Mimosa had been sent off to the seamstress as usual for the dresses she would need for her coming year, only for the child to whine until the seamstress agreed to model a dress the child had handpicked without altering It to the Clement standard of modesty. The tailors had warned that Lady Clement’s permission would be needed but Grandmere had simply been delighted to see Mimosa excited about her dress.

“She is barely ten,” the Lady Clement had waved off concerns. “Let her dress as she wishes, there will be plenty of time to restrain her fashion sense later.”

On the morning of her birthday, Mimosa had been awakened with a mirror call from Grandpa and Clara, both of them looking happily at her as she opened her eyes and then promptly bounced out of bed at the sight of the two in the large mirror atop her dressing table. “Happy birthday, kiddo,” the duo had said in unison as Mimosa ran to climb aboard the table and hug the mirror, knocking items off the table in her haste. Upon realizing she couldn’t actually hug the cold hard mirror, Mimosa had tumbled back down to the plush carpet, quiet safe thanks to the cushioning charm her room was equipped with at all times.

Once the call with her guardians was concluded, a servant came in to dress her and true to form, Mimosa was dressed in the black and white number she had chosen specifically for the day. Maybe Elenore would be at breakfast today, and she would see Mimosa dressed in black and white and say what a great Clement she looked. And Jacques’ favorite color was white too. In a way, the dress was her own small present to the Clement siblings, to show them how much she loved them both and how she was part of their family too.

Jacques himself came to take her down to breakfast, catching her in their usual hug and sweeping her off the floor in their usual manner. “Jacques, I’m now ten!!!” she almost screeched in his ear as he put her down and took her hand, guiding her to the stairs leading to the dining room. “I can do lots of stuff now, I’m an adult! I’m almost as old as Mercy, though she’s still older than me!” This made the child pout for a moment before she realized there would be a letter from Mercy today, which made her break out into a grin once more.

The breakfast table was different today, instead of the usual plates and glasses and cutlery, it was piled high with presents, making Mimosa squeal so loudly, her shrill voice reverberated off the chandeliers above. The mountain of brightly wrapped presents were all for her, and she couldn’t wait to dig into all of them. The packages were of all shapes, sizes and colours, presenting a thousand different personalities. The bright, oddly shaped pointy parcels had Clara’s unmistakable touch while the most elegantly wrapped black packages with white bows and silver trimmings were from the palace. Mimosa wondered what Elenore had gotten her today before deciding that she would know as soon as she opened it.

“Grandmere, Grandpere, merci boku,” she managed in the little French Michelle had been teaching her. “There’s a whole mountain of presents! Where did it come from?”

________________________________________________

Come Plot With Me <3

Subject: Re: Champagne Showers Wed Dec 27, 2017 1:20 pm

Ever since the arrival of one Mycroft Holmes to the Palace on a more official engagement than that of the Christmas Ball, Louis had felt something of an unpleasant air in the Palace. His youngest daughter had a desire to leave the Palace which did little to make Louis feel happy about her decision, and yet he could not bring himself to ask Elenore why she wished to leave.

The Lord Clement could feel it in his wife's body language, too, a tightness in her person that had not existed before the day the Holmes' heir had come to the Palace. Louis hadn't known the words to tell Vanessa that this would be okay, that he could make it better, because in all honesty, he had not known how that might happen

Work, as it so often did in the household, pressed on Louis' time much harder since their return to the Palace, with copious new projects popping up around Europe that Vanessa and he were focusing their time on. But, with little Mimosa here, Louis had taken more time away from his work to ensure she enjoyed her stay at the Palace. After all, the Lord Clement wished for nothing more than Kenneth Harrington to realise he could never offer his granddaughter what Louis could.

Even after all these years, Louis liked to remind the American of his place.

The weird feeling, however, had grown exponentially when Elenore had not come to breakfast for over a month now. Whilst Louis knew that Elenore was a stubborn child, he did not understand why she'd suddenly taken to eating with her Grandmere and not the rest of the family. But, each morning when he went to ask Jacques, or Vanessa, as to the whereabouts of Elenore the moment was taken by the excited chatter of little Mimosa.

The impending departure for Hogwarts had the youngest Clement excited beyond belief and Louis found it infectious.

July turned in to August, and with that came the arrival of two birthdays. Jacques' nineteenth birthday had come in a shower of splendour. Presents from across the world, a new vehicle that he'd passed up in comment earlier in the year -- a vehicle which Vanessa had insisted was not to be brought on to the grounds of the Palace -- that Louis was somewhat interested to see in action. Another of the home's belonging to the Clements was moved from Louis and Vanessa's name to Jacques under some careful planning by the accountants. The list was never ending, but the splendour of the whole day had not been short.

Then, only three days later, they were repeating the process again. Except, this time, the mountain of presents was much larger than Jacques' had been. The excitement much higher than before, as Louis and Vanessa waited for Jacques to bring the witch down for breakfast that morning. Louis' arm was wrapped around his wife carefully -- she'd denoted Mimosa had a surprise for him, too -- and he was waiting with baited breath.

"Elenore..?" Louis breathed only a few moments before Jacques and Mimosa would arrive. There was a hint of worry in Louis' tone, Elenore had missed Jacques' birthday breakfast, and it looked like she was going to abstain from another one. Vanessa simply shook her head ever so slightly in that moment, not looking up to him as she did. Louis' eyes remained on his wife for only a moment longer, before the sound of footsteps sounded outside the door.

Pushing a smile on to their lips, the Lord and Lady Clement readied themselves for the moment. The doors opened with the aid of the footmen, and Mimosa and Jacques appeared before them. The shrill squeal that left Mimosa's lips made Louis close his eyes for a moment, before letting out a soft laugh at her excitement.

"Merci beaucoup," Louis corrected his granddaughter softly, moving over to the child to look at the presents with her. At the question of where they'd gotten them from, Louis gently lifted the witch up so that she could see the mountain of presents much clearer from his height. "Well, I believe these ones," Louis motioned to the ones that were obviously not from the Palace. "Have been flown all the way from America for you. And then," Louis moved to the small gift that had come that morning. "I think this one might be from England, or, perhaps America too -- where's Dominique at the moment?" Louis asked Jacques, who corrected his father with Dominique's new homeland.

"Ah, yes, then, all the other ones, wrapped up in the Clement colours..." Louis lowered his voice slightly as if telling his granddaughter a secret. "Are from all over the world, your Grandmere and I picked them up on our travels all throughout the year!" With a grin, Louis gently placed Mimosa back down, before taking a small step back, and bringing his hand to his chest.

"Ah, ma P’tit diamant," Louis said, marvelling at the young witch's outfit. "You look like a true Clement today! Parfait!" Louis beamed, at the young witch, truly very proud of her.

"Now, shall we open these presents? Jacques has a surprise for you once you're finished!" Louis added, with a soft 'papa!' being heard from Jacques as he gave some of the fun away for later that day. But, Louis didn't care, it wasn't every day you got to spoil your Granddaughter rotten, was it?

________________________________________________

~ Lord Clement ~ Profile ~ 55 ~

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

Subject: Re: Champagne Showers Tue Jan 02, 2018 5:51 pm

Mimosa went happily from standing firm on the ground to up in Grandpere's arms, making her so much taller, taller than even Grandpere as he held her up to appreciate the mountain of presents. As he explained where they'd come from, her smile grew almost too large for her small face, her blue eyes shining as he revealed the secret behind each one. At the last part, when he explained that he and Grandmere had picked up different presents from all over the world, Mimosa gave the Lord Clement a quick kiss before he set her down once more. the child ran to her Grandmere and hugged the Lady Clement tightly too.

It was then that her Grandfather gave her the best present of all as he looked over her, declaring confidently how she looked perfectly like a Clement. The child was almost giddy with happiness as she twirled for everyone, the white hem of her dress unfurling like a flower petal, just the way she had asked the seamstress to make it. She was a real Clement, everyone knew it.

Even Elenore knew it, she was just playing a game.

Being urged to open her presents because there were more surprises in wait, Mimosa didn't need selling twice. the child stacked the pile of presents with as much enthusiasm as a pack of hungry hyenas would fresh meat. Fortunately, the charm placed on the pile kept it in place no matter which parcel the new minted ten year old chose to pull from the mountain. The cards she stopped at only to look upon the pictures, not bothering the read the words. Instead Mimosa identified her presents by how they were wrapped and what was the content. the pair of chopsticks made from fine glass looked like a result of Dia's Asia tour. The silver necklace with a large yellow stone must be from Elenore because it had Clement packaging and the Hufflepuff colors, the pink helmet made perfectly to her size made the girl squeal out loud because it meant Jacques planned to take her out on his new motorbike, which was just about the most impressive vehicle Mimosa had ever seen.

Even with her vigor and sharp rips, it took the better part of two hours to go through all he presents and thank everyone present for them. Afterwords, the dining room was covered in shredded paper, ribbons and bits of tape, not that Mimosa minded of course, the palace was magic and everything just automatically got cleaned up. Just like home.

When she was done, she finally turned to Jacques. "Now my surprise?" she asked, barely containing her excitement. The two hour of presents had not done a thing to tire the young witch out who knew today belonged to her and her alone. "Come on! Come on! Come on!"

________________________________________________

Come Plot With Me <3

Subject: Re: Champagne Showers Tue Jan 02, 2018 8:33 pm

Two hours of present opening was, perhaps, one of the quicker times Jacques had seen anyone open their presents in the Palace. Birthdays in the Palace were never a small affair, always full of lavish gifts from across the world, a multitude of people, and a varying degree of extravagance depending on the sender. It was definitely a very fun time. Mimosa's presents, though, were much more concentrated, whilst the people of France had sent the young witch a multitude of presents, only those from immediate family were brought to the young American, with the staff opening and responding to those of the people who were fond of their family.

Mimosa, though, did not need to know she had thousands more gifts only a few rooms away that were being opened by other people.

Jacques watched the young witch happily, offering Mimosa gifts when she couldn't reach, and reading the labels for her when he had the chance to read them himself. Mimosa, though, was more interested in the contents, and the room got lost in her excitement. Jacques had exchanged fond looks with his parents as Mimosa opened her presents from them in an excitement of thank yous, and excited noises that Jacques couldn't always describe.

By the time Mimosa had finished -- and the adults had finished another cup of tea whilst they waited -- it was growing closer to lunch time, which suited Jacques quite well for his surprise with the younger witch.

"Your surprise awaits you at the end of the biggest and best challenge the Palace has to offer," Jacques explained, denoting the fond looks on his parent's features out of the corner of his eye. "We must conquer the Dehliantelle!" He added, with excitement that could, possibly had rivalled Mimosa's had he been ten years younger. "Do you think you can manage it?" Jacques asked, knowing Mimosa certainly could do it, especially with the slight tweak he'd made to the Dehliantelle the previous evening, where there would be a game disguising the work that would be put in to read directions to get to the middle.

After Mimosa had confirmed it, Jacques looked to his parents. "Please excuse us, Maman, Papa." He said, before offering his hand to Mimosa so they could hurry down to the maze together, hand in hand, to conquer it once and for all.

________________________________________________

~ Profile ~
~ Clement Heir ~ 24 ~ Athletic ~ 5'11" ~ French Accent ~

Thanks to .V0ldiemort @ TDA for my signature!

Subject: Re: Champagne Showers Thu Jan 04, 2018 7:54 pm

"Your surprise awaits you at the end of the biggest and best challenge the Palace has to offer. Do you think you can manage it?"

"Yes sir!" Mimosa nodded vigorously, her hair flying all over the place. There may have been some excess ribbon twirled into her hair from all the present openings but the child didn't care. They were going to the Dahlia maze! All summer she and Jacques had been slowly trying to make their way through it but she had never gotten very far without getting lost. Jacques' clue told her that not only would they be finally solving the maze today but that there would be a huge surprise at the end of it too!

Maybe he maze was magic? Maybe it opened into a whole new world at the middle? Or maybe there would be Elenore waiting at the end? Maybe she would finally say the game was over? The girl almost skipped off when Jacques excused them from the breakfast table, keeping pace with him as they headed out into the grounds. The palace was so large that even going outside took some twenty minutes but nothing could put a damper on the American witch's excitement today.

As they walked the grounds, various staff members greeted them on their way, a formal greeting for Jacques because he was a prince and a cheerful happy birthday for Mimosa. By the time they reached the maze, she had been wished almost two dozen times. Of course, the child wasn't surprised everyone knew it was her birthday, it was after all the most important day of the year!

"We're here!" Mimosa announced unnecessary as they approached the tall hedges of the maze. "What do we do now? Do i get my surprise now? Or do i have to complete the maze? Will you help me? Can I get a clue of what my suppress is? Pleeeeaaaseeeee?"

________________________________________________

Come Plot With Me <3

Subject: Re: Champagne Showers Thu Jan 04, 2018 8:57 pm

Jacques smiled fondly at the excitement from Mimosa, before they were dismissed with a mix of 'have funs' in English, and 'don't let Mimosa get too tired' in French from his parents. Jacques gave a soft affirmation to both statements, before hurrying along with Mimosa towards the maze.

The walk was uneventful in Jacques' opinion, the staff greeting him and getting a fond hello, how are you from Jacques. The short answer given was overruled with the enthusiasm for Mimosa's birthday, before the duo headed on towards their destination.

Finally, though, they made it to the maze, and Mimosa's enthusiasm was not deterred in the slightest. "Yes we are." Jacques said softly, trying not to grow too excited with his own plans as Mimosa questioned what they were going to do.

"No, you don't get your surprise now, you have to work for it. And, no, I'm not giving you a clue, because you're much too clever, and you'll guess it before we get there!" Jacques replied, giving her a warm smile to show he genuinely meant it. "We have to beat the maze to be able to see your surprise, but unlike all the other attempts we've made this year, we've got some help along the way! And, you know, Mimosa, I'm always here to help you." Jacques explained, motioning for Mimosa to head in to the maze.

"You know the first four turns off by heart, so when you get to the fifth, we've got our own little help!" Jacques explained, waiting only a moment for Mimosa to get in to moving. The maze soon surrounded them, and Jacques kept up with Mimosa's pace at each turn. A left, another left, a right, then one more left and the first clue came in to place.

Veuillez tourner à droite.
Please turn right.

"Oh, look, a clue!" Jacques said enthusiastically, as if he hadn't been the one to set all of the up and he was having to read the sign with her. "Hmm, lets see. This one is in French..." Jacques said, his finger moving to the words. "Veuillez tourner à droite, hmm..." He read carefully, his finger pointing to each word as he did so. Jacques was not a teacher, he never had been, and he never would be. He was simply going with how he'd be taught by his parents when he was very small.

"And... your clue..." Jacques added, motioning to the words to get Mimosa to read it to him.

________________________________________________

~ Profile ~
~ Clement Heir ~ 24 ~ Athletic ~ 5'11" ~ French Accent ~

Thanks to .V0ldiemort @ TDA for my signature!

Subject: Re: Champagne Showers Thu Jan 04, 2018 9:27 pm

When the Clement heir insisted she was too smart for clues, Mimosa had to agree with him. Of course she would figure it out. It had only taken her a dozen tries to memories the first four turns after all. The child was sure it took other people much much longer than that. So when he signaled that they were ready, Mimosa confidently took his hand and walked into the maze.

Just as she had practiced. the little witch stopped at each junction, holding out her hand to check which way was left and right before walking forwards. All the while, her blue eyes danced from the path ahead to Jacques to see if he would subconsciously take the lead like he always did, or if his body language would give away the direction but he kept firmly behind her, for the first time following her lead.

It made the ten year old feel extremely important, leading Jacques. She couldn't mess this up or she would get him lost in the maze too.

When they reached their first clue, Mimosa almost groaned internally, it was a sign with words on it. Mimosa really didn't want to read anything today but at least there were only two lines. As the card grew bigger, a small pang of doubt unfurled inside her.

What if this was a test... What if Jacques was trying to "fix" her... What if Elenore wasn't playing a game? If her birthday was going to become some kind of act to try and get her to be... better...

But just as the dark thoughts emerged, Jacques stepped ahead, reading the card, and banishing all her fears. He was reading with her. He wasn't testing her! He just wanted in one the fun! As the young man read the french part, Mimosa realized that he needed her help to read the English bit! Of course, just like she needed help with French, maybe he wanted her to take the lead in English.

Walking closer to the hedge, the child scrutinized the card. From what he'd said, she didn't have to worry about the first line. The second only had three words. "Wait," she motioned, stepping even closer as if seeing the words bigger would help her understand. If this was a clue, than it was probably some kind of direction. Jacques had used the word "droite" which she knew in french meant "right". Scanning each of the words, the child detected what looked like a "right" at the very end. It had an R.... and a T....

"I think we have to go right," she finally proclaimed before a smile bloomed on her face once more. "Yes, I'm sure it says to go right."

________________________________________________

Come Plot With Me <3

Subject: Re: Champagne Showers Thu Jan 04, 2018 9:51 pm

Jacques' concentration was on Mimosa as she stepped forward towards the sign after he'd read the French bit. In truth, Jacques didn't know how well Mimosa was getting on with her French, and thus didn't pay too much attention to her understanding of his own language. He, instead, concentrated on her workings on the English.

The young witch did not read the words aloud, which Jacques took in his stride -- he did not push her to read them aloud, either. This was something he'd read the dyslexic children didn't like to do -- he hadn't really delved in to that reading too deeply, because he did not wish for Mimosa to catch him reading such material, or find it in the Palace -- and it, started at least, to confirm Elenore's words. As much as it pained him, though, Mimosa was not going to be deterred.

"It says right?" Jacques said, moving his finger to the word on the sign then tapping it. "You're right!" He praised, trying his best to keep her upbeat. "That's.... this way!" Jacques explained, pointing to the right and hurrying on after Mimosa had passed him.

And, the game continued, the clues differing from 'left' and 'right' to 'green marker' or 'blue marker' depending on the turn they got to. At each one, Jacques and Mimosa would sit and work it out together, with the young American witch growing with confidence the more they worked at it. There weren't too many, though, Jacques had been wise enough not to push Mimosa too hard. On some junctions there were simply small golden arrows for them to follow, until they made it in to the middle of the maze.

Mimosa's first time in the middle of the maze.

Though, today, the maze did not look as it always did. Jacques had known that Mimosa would not find the middle of the Dahliantelle as exciting if he'd left it as his Maman and Papa would have liked it. Instead -- after placing many charms over the flowers, and the bench that denoted his parents preferences for the centre of the maze -- Jacques had transfigured the middle to be a spiral of a tower, large enough for Mimosa and him to climb to the top, though he wouldn't be in any rush.

"Your surprise is at the top of the tower." Jacques explained as he leaned down to let her know, motioning for her to hurry off because they'd completed the mammoth task of finishing the maze. "I hope you like it."

And, sat at the top of the spiral of the tower would be Mimosa's tenth birthday present from Jacques.

The latest model of the Firebolt broom, engraved with her initials on the handle:

M.A.C.

________________________________________________

~ Profile ~
~ Clement Heir ~ 24 ~ Athletic ~ 5'11" ~ French Accent ~

Thanks to .V0ldiemort @ TDA for my signature!

Subject: Re: Champagne Showers Wed Jan 10, 2018 5:57 am

As the game continued, Mimosa started getting the hang of it. It seemed those clues were at every corner where they had to make a decision and the clues were all written in both French and English. So Jacques had to read the french part and Mimosa had to confirm it by looking carefully at the English part. Very soon, Mimosa knew the shspe and general look o the words "right", "left", "straight" and "turn" as well as their meaning in French. The maze was huuuuge and it took them a while but Jacques never hurried her along, in fact it was the child tugging at him to move further and further into the maze.

Once they were halfway through and the child was almost certain she would know all the future future words on the clues, she also started discerning a pattern, the maze was big, but once you had traveled enough of it, it followed the same routes like in a circle. Two rights, hen three lefts, then a right again, then straight, than a loop back and two rights once more. The child may not have cared much for the words written on clues but the pattern started becoming nervous as the sun rose higher and higher in the sky.

"Here Jacques, I figured soemthing out!" she squealed, closing erh eyes shut and taking his hand. Walking with her eyes shut, the child navigated the last few turns, opening her eyes when she was sure she had completed the cycle, only to see bright golden arrows pointing the way. The child let out a victorious yell before running towards the clearing.

And he middle middle of he maze was amazing.

The tower that dominated the center already looked like something that belonged to a princess, and the spiraling stairs were just big enough for two people to comfortably run up to. The maze had been exhausting, the whole morning and afternoon had been. Yet that did nothing to stop the little brunette from bursting through the tower door and flying up the stairs with Jacques behind her. the child reached the top of the structure in record time, only to gasp loudly when she saw her present.

"I HAVE A FIREBOLT FLAAAAASSSHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" The child screamed, all too familiar with this model of the broom. She had heard there were only thirteen of these made in the whole world. And Mimosa had one of them.

Mounting the broom hastily, the child merely had to think of a direction before the broom was airborne, plummeting her from the tower and landing her safely on the ground. Her very first dive on a broomstick.

Maybe this was what complete and utter joy felt like.

________________________________________________

Come Plot With Me <3

» April Showers (Jake)