The Prized Fool (Kevin)

Subject: The Prized Fool (Kevin) Sun Jun 07, 2020 7:46 pm

The months had passed in a blur for Elenore since February, in truth she couldn't remember a time she'd been happier. It had only been one night, two days, but the time away from the city of New York had been freeing. The concrete jungle she had inhabited without pause for the last eighteen months had disappeared, and instead vast amounts of greenery, fresh air, and freedom had found it's home inside of her.

And on the Sunday morning of the trip, she'd awoken in the arms of Kevin Harrington.

The witch had stirred gently to the slithers of light that filled the room beneath the blinds that came down on each window, her nose gently taking in the cologne of the man she had come to call her friend. Much too potent to be a memory her mind had supplied her as her eyes opened to find herself in the shoulder of the young man who's scent she would never be able to misplace. His arm was neatly tucked around her waist, her hand was laid gently on his chest.

She should have sought to find space, she should have excused herself for being in such a situation.

But the soft features of the man sleeping beside her had kept Elenore very much in position as she watched him sleeping beside her.

Or... she'd thought he'd been sleeping.

How long she'd been watching him for, the witch would not have been able to say, but as the smile spread across Kevin's features, the witch realised he had not been a sleep. In fact...

"You should take a picture, it lasts longer." Kevin had told her, not unkindly as his eyes met hers, causing the same blush to creep up her cheeks that had affected her the night before when he looked at her that way.

"Je suis désolé," Elenore had replied instantly as she moved from the man's side, heading swiftly away to the bathroom before she could make more of a fool of herself than she already probably had. Kevin had not mentioned it again for the rest of the day they spent in the Catskills, instead ensuring they made the most of their time in the mountains as they headed back out on to the mountains to explore.

It had been four months ago that this had happened, though.

Four long months in which Elenore found herself wanting to be back up in the mountains, with Kevin and the puppies, hidden from the world. Not that they did not still spend ample time together, but it was not the same. Kevin was always so polite, never pushing for anything more than they had. He would see her home after they spent the day together, and politely refuse her offers to come up to her apartment for dinner, or coffee, or any reason. Many of the girls in her social circle had suggested that this was because he wasn't interested in girls -- something the young witch found to be more than rude -- others would just look to Elenore with a pitying look upon their features.

But Kate had pointed out that, perhaps, Kevin was just a gentleman.

Elenore had never been one for girly gossip that spread around the group, though, so she left them to it. Instead using the muse that had welcomed itself to her from the trip to put in to her composition for the end of the school year. It had been one of the quickest pieces Elenore had written, but by far the most complex. The building of the crescendos in the piece, followed by the light flurries of happiness, and the very fast piano piece had been almost impossible to capture on paper. It had been harder still to bring an orchestra together to play the piece, though, and Elenore had spent more hours in the practice rooms than really should have been allowed.

The piece had to be perfect though.

It had been the start of June when the board of The Julliard School had come to watch the piece be performed. Elenore's nerves had been jittery all day, the kind of jitters she remembered all too well from playing any piece -- no matter the complexity -- in front of her Maman. The nauseating knots in her stomach were not something the witch was dealing with well. Until Kevin had appeared, looking all too relaxed, as he always did with life, camera around his neck, and the smile upon his features that said before he even spoke that he believed in her.

His reassurance that she would be fine had been brief, before he'd been told in no uncertain terms to get away from the stage. The anxiety that had been bubbling inside the witch had been muted, and as Kevin took his seat in the auditorium behind the panel of judges, Elenore concentrated on playing the piece. Not for the school.

For Kevin.

Tears had been a plenty by the end of the performance, the board had loved the piece, highlighted it's complexities in their earnest reviews, before finally, the question of whether Elenore would play the piece at the end of year ceremony. Her answer had not needed consideration in that moment, and with the agreement in place, Elenore had hurried to Kevin's side to explain the conversation she had just had, and to thank him for his unfaltering support.

The couple of weeks that remained were filled with rehearsals and end of year examinations. Elenore had no time to think of anything more than that. The only thing that had caught her attention outside of the repetitive schedule had been the text from Kate.

She had been nominated for the John Erskine Prize for exception scholastic and artistic achievement.

The big night had arrived for the witch and the jitters had returned anew. The whole school would be in attendance. The orchestra had been ready, though, the stage for her piano lit softly as they all played in unison. The room had been filled with each note perfectly as Elenore opened the night up for the awards with her own composition. The song had been without fault, Elenore's fingers moving as delicately across the keys as they had ever done before, and when the final note had finally faded away, the room had erupted with applause as each and every member of the room rose to their feet.

Elenore Clement was a star in the making, the school's website would declare the next day.

The witch had curtsied to her audience before leaving the stage, carefully finding her way down to her seat beside Kevin with a giddiness she'd never know when playing music. Her hand had carefully sought out Kevin's as they listened to the speeches, her fingers shaking as she tried to digest everything that had happened in the last couple of months, and ensuring she remained grounded in that moment.

The awards were given out between performances from the school's pupils, until finally they reached the one that she had been waiting for.

Perhaps the one time in her life she might win something for herself.

"And now, the John Erskine Prize for exception scholastic and artistic achievement." The Chancellor of the university spoke clearly from her podium. "This award goes to someone who deserves to be recognised for the talent that she has harboured from a very young age, who has come to us from a great family of Europe, and who has already shown us this evening just why she should be receiving such an award. It is without a doubt an honour to be joined by a Clement in this school, and that means, Lady Elenore Clement is the winner of the John Erskine Prize, twenty twenty-seven!"

Elenore's cheeks had drained from colour as she heard her name spoken like that in America. Her eyes moved to Kevin's to find him encouraging her up to the stage. Almost stiffly the witch rose from her seat, and moved up to the stairs to the stage. The witch took the trophy she was offered before moving to the podium, still not knowing how to react to the information she'd just heard.

"Merci," the witch spoke, her voice soft as she looked out across the room with a different lens this time.

Was that all people saw?

"Thank you for this award. I..." No words came to the witch as she tried to regain herself, her mind already monstrously tearing through every barrier she'd made to date. "Thank you," Elenore choked out, before stepping back from the microphone and towards the edge of the stage. Each step giving off the devilish mantra from within.

Just. Because. You're. A. Clement.

Just. Because. You're. A. Clement.

Just. Because. You're. A. Clement.

JUST. BECAUSE. YOU'RE. A. CLEMENT.

The side door of the auditorium was barely recognisable as the witch pushed through it, the notion of breathing becoming harder and harder as she tried to suppress the tears that were inevitable by now.

Everything she had worked for...

It was worth nothing now.

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Subject: Re: The Prized Fool (Kevin) Tue Jul 06, 2021 1:10 pm

The Prized Fool (Kevin) 1506023646-kjapa1

He had been a fool to think nothing would change after February.

Granted it hand't been his idea to spend the weekend at the Catskills, but he hand't stopped ehr either. Tuesday was still a child while he, was old enough to know better. And yet Kevin Harrington had done his best to make it a friendly weekend, a weekend with a friend who was growing more and more strategic the more time he spent with her. Attraction to the female form was nothing new to the wizard, there was beauty everywhere to be appreciated and indulged in.

What he hadn't expected was the realization that he couldn't deny Elenore Clement things in his power to give her.

When had that happened?

There was no answer to his internal query. How the french female had slipped quietly into his life, into his heart and into his art, Kevin didn't know. The realization had only dawned when he had carried her to bed the night of their great marshmallow experiment and when she had refused to let go, he had given in. The redhead barely slept, giving in to half dozes now and then as Tuesday kept one arm securely around him. Bouts of drinks from his special flask kept him lucid enough through the night and when she woke up, he was almost back to his usual self.

The drive back had been cheerful enough, ehr easily distracted by the puppies and him taking it in turns to photograph both the view and the girl. And after a long time, he had felt like developing pictures on card the old way. Digital technology may have improved pixel quality but nothing gave a photo more character than the work that went into developing a physical copy in a dark room.

Once back in New York, classes took up their schedules again, with Tuesday almost painfully attentive in hers while Kevin did the minimal amount required. The wizard ahd no doubt that someone with his grades an without his connections would have been flunked out in the first year but as it was, he was going to escort Tuesday as her plus one for the end of semester award ceremony. She had won a prize for academic excellence of some sort and when asked if she was going to celebrate with ehr family, had turned away. Madison really didn't know how to keep ehr mouth shut and Kevin was begin to reconsider his earlier good opinion of Elenore having more friends.

Family or no, Kevin had made up his mind that they were going to celebrate this achievement, and they would do it in proper Tuesday style. So he had booked a light tea at The plaza, pretending to enjoy the finger food and dainty ambiance while the young brunette experienced a part of New York she had yet to, before taking her to catch a play on Broadway.

The Phantom of the Opera was originally written in France and he french witch took quiet pleasure in correcting changes that his been made in the Americanization of the play. The musical score had either interested ehr or impressed her and Kevin still wasn't sure which was which. He'd taken ehr home well past midnight and despite her insistence, hand't stayed for coffee, inside arriving tired and uncertain at his own apartment only to be greeted by Maurice.

"You shouldn't stay out so late, Good Sir. This is New York after all."

"You're a wise man, Maurice."

The day of the award ceremony dawned bright and sunny, throwing into sharp relief NYC's dark and dusty structure. Roadside greenery shrank again the light rays of the sun and stray rats, cat and dogs found shelter in industrial garbage tanks. The warmth touched leaking sewage water on the streets, ripening the smell further and the homeless population of the city put a cushion under themselves and an umbrella above. The coffee shop apposite Tuesday's apartment had all doors and windows open to attract nonresistant wind as the cashier yelled in a distinct new York slang at the air conditioner repairman to "hurry the fuck up, we're dyin' ovah heya!"

Knowing she'd be busy, Kevin didn't ask to see her when he stopped by her building that morning to send a bouquet of flowers with a good luck note. He would see her in the evening anyway. The rest of the day was dedicating to finding a tux that would actually fit.

Since they had agreed to meet on Campus, Kevin had stood waiting or ehr car to arrive at the right time, not wanting her to wait outside for him. the redhead just about managed not to drop his jaw when her car door opened and a delicate leg ending in a stroppy heel was lifted out. The brunette must had at least noticed soemthing from erh all knowing smile but they didn't have item to dwell on that.

The event was what they had expected. Barring Elenore's performance, everything was drab and as expected. The fact that she was a clear musical protege could not be missed by anyone and if there were rumors about her getting the award because of her background, they would all be quashed.

"And now, the John Erskine Prize for exception scholastic and artistic achievement."

Everyone in the auditorium had held their breath, everyone ha known what was coming. And when her name was announced, everyone rightly burst into applause. Kevin watched proudly as the young genius took ehr place on stage, accepting her award as politely and humbly as she could. And that was when everything fell part.

",,,who has come to us from a great family of Europe...""

"...a gem if the Clement collection.."

"...grace, beauty and talent emulated by ehr mother..."

"... strength learned form her father..."

"...without a doubt an honour to be joined by a Clement in this school..."

Kevin knew what was happening before everyone else did. The witch's quiet thank you was lost in the applause, only him noting how her voice was breaking. Her hurried footsteps towards the exit were slot to the crowd who had moved on, no one noticed.

Except him.

His own exit was far less graceful, punctuated with a half dozen "excuse me"s as he traded on people's feet to get out. More than a few disgruntled voices chased after him but soon they were all left behind as fresh summer air rushed to envelope him from the night skies. Fortunately, Tuesday was slower in her heels than he was in his own wingtips, making it easy to catch up to her in the lonely college quad.

"H-hey," he called out from behind the girl, not wanting to get too close with her unawares. It was clear she was crying, her back shook too much for it to be anything else on this warm summery night. "It's okay Tue-" the redhead cut himself off shortly. "It's okay, It will all be okay," he tried again.

"I'm here now, I'll make everything okay.'

Because he couldn't do anything but. He no longer had that power.

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Subject: Re: The Prized Fool (Kevin) Tue Jul 06, 2021 1:11 pm

Tears blurred the witch's vision as she moved through the corridor outside the auditorium. A face that she didn't recognise moved forth and spoke words she did not hear as she pushed past the stranger, through the doors in the warm summer evening. She wouldn't cry, she refused to cry, it wouldn't achieve...

But the tears were unrelenting in their will to be spilled.

What should have been quiet tears saved for the refuge of her apartment became forcefully hushed sobs that sharply wracked through her body. No noise would come from the witch, but her shoulders would be the obvious give away as they shook almost violently with the effort of trying to keep from openly crying before she reached her car.

That was all she had to do, get to the car, and she would be okay...

"H-hey,"

The sound of Kevin's voice made all such notions disappear, though. Her body instead giving in to the tears that fell quicker than before with the presence of the man behind her growing more and more prominent with each second.

"I'm here now, I'll make everything okay."

He'd caught up much too easily, and even though Elenore's eyes would not move to the man, she knew that his eyes were already upon her, she knew he could see with clarity the distress she was in. And for once, Elenore did not care to hide it. Instead, the young witch would shake her head in reply to the man's statement.

"How can you, Kevin?" The witch asked, not as an accusation of him, but simply the curiosity of a woman lost in everything she had. "Can you stop them from ruining everything? Maman and Papa? Can you make it so that I win anything purely from merit, rather than the name they gave me?" Elenore shook her head again as she moved forward and away from the man who had chased after her. He would never understand her position, know how suffocating it was to be a part of a family that would always claim your victories for their own before allowing you to be your own person.

The witch had barely made it a step further, though, before the sharp pain twisted in her side at the thought of never being free. The crippling twist of a faux pain almost knocking her breath from her body left her reaching out for something to support herself with, only finding purchase on the man who had never, ever let her be the whole time she'd been in the city.

Why?

Elenore would never know.

"If people knew..." Elenore managed, taking a breath carefully as she straightened herself back up slightly. "Knew the monsters they blindly worshipped like I do, they would never hold the family name so highly." The sentence was true, Elenore knew that much, Grandmere had taught her that much. The Lord and Lady Clement were just very good at hiding every wrong they'd ever done.

"Why can my victory not just be mine, Kevin? Pourquoi est-ce toujours le sien?"

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Subject: Re: The Prized Fool (Kevin) Tue Jul 06, 2021 1:11 pm

The wizard liked to think he knew Elenore enough by now to guess she would try and hide ehr feelings. In all the time they had spent together, she rarely ever admitted to anything that would clue him in to how she was feeling. It was this very reason that Kevin Harrington had found himself resorting to creative means to understand her better. His doubt at the dubiousness of his actions had always been tinged with a noble - or so he told himself - motive to understand how to best help her.

But she almost never let him. Elenore Clement was not the type to admit she needed help.

Yet here she was, openly crying and questioning how he could possibly help her. A thousand thoughts fluttered through his mind at her accusations. He could take her away somewhere nothing would matter. He could tell her the truth. He could tell her she was more than the sum of where she came from. He could, he could, he could...

But he didn't.

Instead, when he spoke, his words were quite and filled with a gravity he rarely applied to his converter with the young brunette.

"If you didn't win this award on your own merit, no one has ever truly won anything in this world." His very tone resonated with a seriousness never reserved for Elenore, more mature and deep, reverberating with the simple truth he believed from the bottom his heart.

Perhaps it was this that made her stumble, perhaps she was just too wracked with grief to stay up on her own. Whatever the reason, Kevin was right beside her, catching her before she hurt herself.

As he would always be.

"If people knew..." Elenore managed, taking a breath carefully as she straightened herself back up slightly. "Knew the monsters they blindly worshipped like I do, they would never hold the family name so highly."

"I know," he spoke in the same calm, soothing voice, a tone one would employ when approaching a startled animal in the wild. But this was a concrete jungle after all, and the irony of the situation was not lost on him. Tuesday had tried, she had tried so hard to make this city home but it wasn't. And now he knew that her birthplace wasn't hum to her either.

And he refused to let her be homeless.

"Why can my victory not just be mine, Kevin? Pourquoi est-ce toujours le sien?"

The French was lost on the redhead, but he got the gist. More importantly, he drew closer to her, raising a hand towards the petite brunette slightly, welcoming her to take it should she wish.

"I know of a place where there's only you," he admitted, fully aware this was not how it should have happened. This was not how he would have allowed it to happen if he had any control over himself. But watching her doubt herself like this, he was in no position to observe his or anyone's rules.

"And I can show you if you come with me, if you want to."

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Subject: Re: The Prized Fool (Kevin) Tue Jul 06, 2021 1:12 pm

"If you didn't win this award on your own merit, no one has ever truly won anything in this world."

Kevin was trying to help, Elenore knew that, but how could she have won on her own merit when the award speech had circled in on her family so much. Talk of the mother she tried to distance herself from so strongly, talk of the father who had long since forgotten of her capabilities, and a family she had never felt like she belonged to had shown that everything she'd managed whilst at this school was for nothing. Nothing when the identifiers of her success came back to her name.

But as wise as the man beside her was trying to be, he would never, ever be able to understand her family.

Mostly because she would never, ever allow him to see them.

Elenore did not try to argue though as his body supported hers, not wanting to try to make the man understand the grief that reverberated around her slender frame. Instead the witch tried to calm herself down as the smell of Kevin's cologne touched her senses, calming her more than anything else in the world would be able to in that moment.

"And I can show you if you come with me, if you want to."

The witch didn't know whether she had much of an alternative, in truth. The world had brought forth the numbness of once again not feeling like she belonged in the world. It had brought back just how desperately she'd failed to find her own space, even in a land her family had no power over. The brutal reminder she would always be tied back to the European superpower, no matter how far she ran...

The idea there was somewhere where she could just be herself...

Elenore's hand found Kevin's larger hand only a moment later, the quiet consent of going with him wherever he saw fit being given in that moment because she couldn't find her own path any longer. She had to allow somebody else in so that she could find the space she longed for.

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Subject: Re: The Prized Fool (Kevin) Tue Jul 06, 2021 1:12 pm

Taking her hand gently, the Harrington wizard drew Elenore to himself, slowly and purposefully. The young witch did not resist, walking into his embrace as he held ehr close, wrapping both arms around her. The gesture was meant both for comfort and for what was to come a few seconds later.

The sting of apparition would no doubt he soothed by the fact that no feeling of disorientation would follow. The brunette would land where she stood, on her feet and tucked safely in his arms, even her face in his coat so as not to cause any sensory distress. To Tuesday, it wouldn't have felt nothing more than perhaps missing a step going downwards but landing safely upon the next step, a surprise but nothing to be afraid of for sure.

Because the redhead had borne the brunt of the magic, feeling it pull and stretch at his spine during the side along charm. The dull pain settled somewhere between his shoulder blade as he quietly motioned for Elenore to have a look around her.

Truth be told, he had never wanted to bring her here. He hardly ever came here despite it being his permanent address here in New York. the dark and dingy alley they stood in had everything New York was known for, along with a homeless man sleeping beside a thick, brick wall.

Before either of them could say a word, the not so sleeping bundle sat up, staring through huge bloodshot eyes at the two new arrivals.

"Master Harrington, you've brought a guest."

"Good evening Maurice," Kevin greeted the man who had long believed - from a combination of schizophrenic episodes and medication - that he was the Butler/Doorman of this particular street. "We didn't mean to bother you, please enjoy your rest."

"Not a bother at all, and this must be the beautiful Miss Tuesday. I just say, you are far lovelier in person Miss." At this, the man tried to get to his feet, only to stumble backwards. Perhaps Maurice had self medicated again that evening?

Keeping Elenore safely behind him, the wizard side-stepped Maurice and gestured for Elenore to move against the wall. Muttering something about always forgetting the right brick, the boy paw-ed about, touching his palm to a few bricks before he landed on the right one, making a small hole spear in he wall.

"I'm afraid we'll have to crawl a few feet in," he admitted apologetically before gesturing for her to go in first so he could lock up behind her. "It's only a little ways and then there's enough room to stand."

Should she agree, Kevin would help her through the small entryway, one he himself had bumped his head on plenty of times, before following suit, closing the entryway and plunging the small tunnel into temporary darkness.

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Subject: Re: The Prized Fool (Kevin) Tue Jul 06, 2021 1:12 pm

Kevin could have taken her anywhere, in truth, the witch would not have cared as she turned in to the man automatically once he had her hand in his. The smell of his cologne only grew stronger in that moment, oddly reassuring her as she rested her head upon Kevin's chest. It had barely rested there before the world moved -- not unpleasantly -- and the familiarity of campus was left behind, instead changing to a world of...

Thankful to be hidden in Kevin's chest, the smell of something not quite so pleasant touched Elenore's nose in that moment, denoting their change of location. Curiosity brought the witch's head away from the man's chest as her eyes took in the beaten up street in which they stood, the smell not really making itself obvious but still very much there.

The witch might have asked, in truth, but a moment later, the sound of another person's voice and the movement of a pile of clothes made the witch almost gasp out loud. Not acquainted with the likes of the homeless, Elenore looked on at the... thing that had just moved with utmost caution. Had her brain been more in keeping with the time, she might have wondered why Kevin thought here was the right place to have brought her.

"Not a bother at all, and this must be the beautiful Miss Tuesday. I just say, you are far lovelier in person Miss."

Elenore's tongue escaped her as the heap before her spoke directly to her -- politely, but still the witch had her reservations of trusting the mess of a man who could not get to his feet. And instead of moving away from the man, they drew somewhat closer.

The smell grew stronger, denoting... at least partly... the source.

Elenore's eyes turned instead to the wall that Kevin's hands were pawing at, confusion touched her brow until he found the right one, denoting he always had trouble with it, and an opening appeared. "What-" The question was cut off by Kevin's next explanation, though.

"I'm afraid we'll have to crawl a few feet in,"

Looking up to the man beside her, Elenore gave him a quizzical look, as if she had heard it wrong. But the nod that came made the witch look down to the gap in the wall once more, kneeling carefully so that she could see. The insistence that it was only a little way made the witch's lips twitch up in amusement, almost ready to say no to the whole idea, but Kevin... looked so sure about this. It wasn't a joke, so far as the witch could see...

Stealing herself, the witch ducked as low as she could before carefully manoeuvring through the hole in a crouched and stooped position. It was not comfortable in the slightest, and when the wall closed behind them, it took Elenore a moment to adjust her eyes to the new lack of light she was faced with. The end came soon enough, and Elenore corrected her position to full height only a moment later.

"Where are w-"

The question was cut off, though.

Interrupted by an almost terrified squeak that had clearly been held in as her hand shot to her mouth. The half step back only put the witch's back against Kevin as she stood frozen.

Eyes growing wider each second as she took in the very small space before her.

The very small space that...

On each wall, Elenore's face looked back at her. Some directly, some at angles that showed she was not aware of the camera lens being pointed at her. Each picture showing her in different pools of light, the next from a place...

Kevin had not been with her that day.

And yet, clearly, he had been.

Her body screamed that this was not right, that there was something very, very deeply wrong with this situation, but her mind was not complying to the witch to flee. The curiosity had broken free anew, and the questions flurried around as her eyes shifted from one picture to the next, trying to understand what this was, what Kevin was doing, to... to explain it.

Shock had set in, though, leaving her in place, without a word to say, or an action to perform.

Kevin's apartment, if that was what this was, was filled with pictures of her.

And far from being freaked out, and screaming for help, the youngest Clement felt... appreciated, more than she could ever remember herself feeling.

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Subject: Re: The Prized Fool (Kevin) Tue Jul 06, 2021 1:12 pm

Truth be told, the Harrington male had expected her to run. he had expected her to make a break for it far before she had knelt down to comply with his request of crawling all the way into what substituted for his home space these days. In truth, it was merely a place to sleep at night. A cramped, creative, barely serviceable place that reminded him of what it was like to be a struggling artist once upon a time. New York's crowd was easy to disappear into. This while in the wall was easy to disappear into.

Elenore's sad brown eyes on certain occasion were easy to lose oneself in.

And there was the truth he had been denying this whole time. This girl made him feel more himself than anything that had happened in a long, long time. The redhead had never thought he would have a second chance at life but here he was, doing what he loved, with a source of inspiration that reminded him what it felt like when the world was beautiful and pure. He would do anything to make sure that beauty and innocence stayed preserved.

Giving her the minute to take in all the photographs of her, the young man rose to his feet behind her, crouching slightly at the space did not afford him enough room to stand up straight. Retrieving his trusty flask from his pocket, Kevin took a swig for the nerves before even trying to explain.

"It's the quietest place I could find in the whole city," he began. not untruthfully. If she were so inclined, the French witch would try and hear noises from the alley outside, only to be greeted with complete silence. They were literally buried inside a wall, as soundproof as could be. "I know it's not ideal but it's a small price to pay for creativity. I find... I don't work well when to comfortable."

There was no reply, they both knew he was stalling.

"I like to capture things that are beautiful," he finally settled on a form of explanation. If there was one thing no one could deny, it was that his companion was beautiful. All ehr moods and flaws were beautiful, all her smiles were beautiful, all her annoyances, eh unflattering eye shadows to her graceful gait, all of it was a work of art. "I didn't realize I had taken to many until I ran out of wall room... Then i started putting them on the ceiling."

That was also true, he had no idea how many pictures he had snapped, and upon closer inspection, how many had been candid. In and amongst the dozens of photographs all over, barely a few were from formal occasions. Perhaps one form last year's Christmas festivities and another at some Julliard showcase. Most of the snaps however, were of her looking distinctly unlike a Clement.

Which was what he hoped she would notice. Because whether his actions were justified or not, he had not lied to Elenore when he had said he knew a place where it was just her. For all around them, just Tuesday looked down on them, just her and everything that mad the witch who she was. Her piano, her puppies, her books.

It was all her.

And no one else.

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Subject: Re: The Prized Fool (Kevin) Tue Jul 06, 2021 1:13 pm

"It's the quietest place I could find in the whole city,"

Had her heart not been thumping so loudly in her chest, Elenore might have been able to agree with the man behind her in that moment, as it was, Elenore decided to simply take his word for that much because her own body could not tell her otherwise. If this place was quiet, then it had been a good find, even her apartment, so high up from the rest of New York didn't fall quiet at any point of the day, there was always something going on that would reach her through the windows, the only time the city would be kept at bay was when the witch would play at her piano, using a silencing charm to protect each delicate note from the monstrous noises of the city below.

Even as the man spoke of comfort, Elenore's eyes continued to travel the room, finding a different picture everywhere she looked, of a different angle, or different pose. The images of her smiling without a care in the world, or nuzzling the puppies, or else not even being aware of the photographer were a plenty, and taking them all in would take more time than they had.

"I like to capture things that are beautiful,"

The thuds in her chest skipped, and her breath caught in her throat at Kevin's words, her eyes landing on a picture from the Catskills in which the sun was starting to set behind her own head, creating a halo of light as she smiled back at the camera with what the camera had caught as shyness in very clear tones.

Many people had called her beautiful in her life, but Elenore had never experienced the same sensation flooding through her veins, or making her breath catch in the same way it had happened this time. Kevin had not been direct in his words, he'd not told her in the explicit manner that she was accustomed to that she was beautiful, he'd simply stated the fact that he liked to capture them with his camera.

"I didn't realize I had taken to many until I ran out of wall room... Then i started putting them on the ceiling."

Every single picture was of her.

Every single one.

I like to capture things that are beautiful, the words repeated in the witch's head as she took the time to process everything that had been laid out before her. The pictures were... different to any she'd ever seen of herself before. Whilst usually the pictures would see her and her family taking a pose of power, or else clearly trying to issue a statement of power, charitable kindness, or an 'open' side to the House that ruled Europe. Here, there was no such statement being offered. No family trying to create an impression. No faux acts of kindness in sight to make people love her.

There was just... her.

The presence of the man behind her was calming, patient, not pressing her for anything else in that moment. Many people would likely have feared him if he'd done the same thing, but the fact became all too clear in that moment, the only thing Elenore Clement had ever wanted in life was someone to notice her. To love her exactly the way she was, and to make her feel as if she was the only person in the world.

The hole in the wall they'd just emerged from had shown the witch that Kevin was that person.

Even if he had never told her of this, even though he'd never directly told her how much she meant to him, this tiny room, filled with her pictures showed it.

For the first time since entering the room, Elenore would peel her eyes away from the walls, the ceiling, and instead turn her attention to the man beside her. Kevin's eyes found hers in that moment, clearly waiting for her to say something, trying to read her expression, or something. Words were not something that Elenore knew in this moment, and yet, there was one question she had to ask.

"How long have you been taking these?" The witch would ask, almost as if it would matter to the witch if he said a week, or a year. Whatever words would come out of Kevin's mouth in the next few moments wouldn't make a difference at all, because he was right, there was only her in this place.

But it was simply a time filler.

Because the moment Kevin's lips would move in answer, the witch would reach up -- aided most usefully by the stooped position Kevin had to take in this building, and press her lips to his. Careful, nervous, and lightly shaking as they did, but not without the conviction of what she wanted to do in that moment.

Kevin deserved her gratitude, and this just felt... right.

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Subject: Re: The Prized Fool (Kevin) Tue Jul 06, 2021 1:13 pm

"How long have you been taking these?"

Though he heard the question accurately enough, the wizard did not provide an answer. Perhaps this was the key? To shame him for doing something that was clearly beyond his right to do. He had no idea how long he'd been taking pictures of the young woman. It may be possible to recreate a timeline from the snapshots and how early they were taken. Truthfully though, he did not care to remember. It hadn't been a conscious decision, he had simply seen something he liked, picked up a camera and tried to capture it's essence.

And then he had done it again and again.

And again and again.

And again and again.

Until his entire creative space was surrounded by her. Yet somehow it still wasn't enough.

It was also impossible to put into words. Tuesday had asked him a question though and so an answer was expected, even one as flimsy as how there could never be an answer to her question. the brunette had turned towards him now, making her seem closer in this cramped space. And she drew closer still as he parted his lips in reply.

Only to have them covered by hers.

Pure, unadulterated shock froze the man in place as she kissed him. Of all the things he had expected to come out of showing the French which his living quarters, this had been the last on the very lengthy list. And yet here they were, with Elenore definitely pressing a kiss to his mouth in a way that left little room for interpretation as to what she wanted.

But it was wrong. It couldn't be. He was not right for her and she was not right for him.

So then why were his arms reaching around her, embracing her securely to him? Why was his head bending down further into the kiss? Why were his lips not conforming to common sense and sucking slowly on her? Slowly at first and then with a little bit more force, a little bit more hungry, a little bit more greedy...

Why was it so tiring to be mindful all the time? Perhaps... perhaps he deserved a little stupidity now and then too?

Perhaps for this one moment in time, the Harrington deserved to feel something for himself?

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