Rebirth (Invite Only)

Subject: Rebirth (Invite Only) Sun Dec 12, 2021 3:17 pm

Time had a tendency to slow in the sept, Vanessa Clement had come to understand.

Every since she was a little girl, Grandmere had insisted it was the power of the Gods, a kind of magic no human could possess. From being a child in awe of the slow, meticulous rituals of prayer to the Lady of House Clement who now called upon the deities as her allies, Vanessa had come to see the allure of the isolated tower, the only part of the palace that had remained unchanged since Thomas and Lissette Clement, the first of their names, had decided to make this their seat. The unpolished stone floors, the rusty candle holders, the rough hewn altar all spoke to a time long gone, a time that now only existed in this chilly, circular room for the devout.

The wall behind her boasted dozens of tiny dots, some so flaky with age they barely clung to the stone facade, some rusted and browned into the stone, and some more fresh. The Gods always demanded blood in exchange for access and every Lady Clement ha to give her pound of flesh to the cause.

Vanessa had given much more in her quest to alleviate the honor and prestige of her family. An it had worked, but at what cost?

Her trueborn daughter was now far away, refusing to talk to her via any means. Her granddaughter lay on her deathbed, fighting to breathe freely. Her son sat on the edge of guilt ridden insanity, wondering what he could have done to stop either of those events and then... The mistake she had made so long ago walked brazenly among the palace walls, flaunting herself for the world to see. The gods giveth, and the gods taketh away.

Perhaps it was her piety that was lacking? The gods could not consider her meager offerings worth anything of value. As they should. They had already graced her with the greatest reward mankind could receive and Vanessa had always known the cost of that. The troubles she had to face as a maiden, everything that came after, the unbearable years when she didn't exist and then trouble with childbirth. All of these were petty consequences for winning the greatest reward of all.

And the Lady Clement wouldn't change it for the world, not even knowing what the cost of it all would be.

She had been kneeling in front of the Mother for the past three hours, head bowed in prayer, long tendrils of dark hair falling over her shoulder. Occasionally, her concentration could break and the flow of energy would stop but then she would close her grey eyes again, pouring raw magic at the Mother's feet until she felt her own limbs weaken. Sometimes, Louis would find her there exhausted to the point of unconsciousness and take her downstairs but she would always leave with the knowledge that she would give the gods almost all she had to give.

And they punished her for that. They punished the family for that.

Because she couldn't give them every last drop of her soul, that already belonged to another, a mortal like her no less.

But that was the one thing Vanessa refused to concede.

Because he was hers to keep and hers alone. And she would fight even the Gods for him.

The world beyond her closed eyes shifted as a wave of exhaustion washed over her. Ignoring the instinct to relax, she continued, her focus so great she did not hear the pair of feet making their way up the stony, crumbling spiraling staircase. No servants were allowed here, only family. And the sept had only served a chosen few in the past thirty years.

"Ven."

A tired smile lifted her lips even as she continued to kneel. She may not have heard him coming, but she had felt him. the witch waited until she felt him kneel beside her, just performing the absolute minimum of a nod towards the Mother before he reached for her frame, staying her. Perhaps she looked as drained as she felt.

"Ma chérie, elle est réveillée." The words flowed like sunlight from his being, turning the cold tower room warm for a second as she comprehended the words. "Vous l'avez fait, Ven, notre petite-fille est réveillée."

Her soft smile grew slightly as she let herself fall into her husband's arms, allowing the fatigue to finally take over.

The gods had given in once again. Without breaking her and demanding what was rightfully hers.

Mimosa was awake, her tenure in this frozen cell was almost over.

For now.

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Subject: Re: Rebirth (Invite Only) Sun Dec 12, 2021 3:18 pm

When Mimosa had first started stirring, Jacques' eyes had turned from the book in his lap to her small frame. It had been ever so slight, the first movement of her fingers, but it had definitely been there. Enough to alert the Frenchman that something was happening that hadn't happened in the weeks he'd resided by the witch's side.

The book had been placed carefully down on the bedside, and without thinking twice his finger had pressed the button to alert the doctors that something was changing. As if the machines weren't already telling them that something was going on, Jacques Clement was not going to take a chance.

"Mon chouchou, it's okay, I'm here, you're okay, I'm here."

The words were said without a second thought, nothing would happen to Mimosa as long as he was here. His fingers moved to gently hold the small hand of the witch's that had moved. Not stopping any further movement from happening, but letting her know he was there in more than one manner. The soft flickering of Mimosa's eyelids made his heart beat faster in his chest in that moment. Hope springing from all the small signs of life that had been absent from the witch since they'd returned from Wales.

"Din the lights,"

The lights dimmed from the doctor's request, but Jacques didn't falter in his attention on the witch before him.

"You can do it, mon chouchou," he spoke again, his voice laced with desperation. "I'm right here, I always will be."

The man wouldn't know how he didn't jar himself backwards in the moment the witch opened her eyes. He'd been too excited for the fact she would open her eyes to think of anything more, and as the excitement had grown in to glee, he hadn't remembered the doctor's words about how things would change. As Mimosa's eyes landed upon him, darkened beyond recognition, the man took a moment to take her in, schooling his features in to one of neutrality to begin before a soft smile touched the lips.

"Hello, mon chouchou." He managed, tears choking his voice for a moment as he tried to comprehend that she had pulled through everything that had been inflicted to her.

"My Jacques..!" The witch rasped, and Jacques had to swallow hard to ensure he didn't get upset.

"I've been waiting for you to wake up, you've been sleeping so much!" He joked, leaning up on to the bed to press a soft kiss to the witch's forehead. Sitting back in to his seat, he waited to see if Mimosa might manage any other words. The usually talkative witch didn't say another word though, perhaps having hurt herself in the first attempt, or else trying to get acquainted with her surroundings. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the light of the room after being closed for so long. They had watered for a short moment, before the lids had closed to recuperate for a few seconds. The doctors hadn't pushed forward from their position of observation, and they were far enough away for Mimosa not to need to focus on them when her eyes reopened again.

"Take your time, I know everything might be a little sore. We don't have anywhere to go, though. We have all the time in the world." Jacques assured the witch, gently running his thumb across her knuckles to try to soothe her worries.

His other hand moved to his wand, concentrating for a few moments, the wizard's Patronus ran off away from him to find Azalea. The message that Mimosa was awake and to come to the medical wing when they were ready was sent with the large wisped Stallion through the doors of the room, cantering off to find it's recipient.

Jacques' attention turned back to Mimosa, his voice softly continuing to talk to her about what they could do when she felt up to it. Distracting her from everything else that was going on in that moment, because he didn't want to ask the question of how she felt, too worried about the honest answer that would come to that question.

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Subject: Re: Rebirth (Invite Only) Sun Dec 12, 2021 3:20 pm

"But Zay-Lea!" Adrienne protested as the older witch shook her head softly. Today was another trade off but this time, it was Jake who had chosen to accompany Ivan to the palace archives while Azalea stayed with Adrienne to explore the less educational parts of the place.

"Come on sweetie, that is not one of the ponies we're allowed to play with."

"Scuzi,' the stable hand cleared her throat. "Le Sebastian is not a pony, he is a miniature horse, one raised by Lady Elenore Clement herself. He is a champion horse."

"Yes, of course," Azalea nodded towards the stable mistress before turning back to the child. "He isn't one of the miniature horses we're allowed to play with."

"But Jacques said we could pl-"

"Oh look, how about that one?" Azalea quickly distracted the child, pointing to a snow white mare galloping off in the distance. "I bet you'd be really tall on top of that."

Adrienne squinted her eyes, trying to get a better look and Azalea hoped the stable employee hadn't heard the mention of Jacques spoken so informally. They had been at the palate for over a month now and she had learned these people were tricky about addressing the first family and sticklers for tradition. the young auror may never have insisted on being referred to with his title but the palace staff acted like they would drop dead if his name wasn't mentioned in full as "The Heir Clement".

Suddenly, Adrienne's face lit up. "I want that one!"

"The white one?"

"No, the shiny one behind her."

Both women raised their gaze towards where the child was looking and sure enough, glittering brilliantly in the afternoon sunlight, something was rushing towards them.Whether it was a horse or not, Azana couldn't say as she stepped in front of the child, vines at the ready.

But as the wispy creation drew near, the witch relaxed. It was a patronus. Not somethings she could personally conjure but it meant them no harm. As the gleaming stallion easily hopped the fence to the riding area and made it's way to the small crowd of spectates, Adrienne began to clap.

"That one, he's the best horsy here!"

As polite as his conjurer, the patronus canted it's head towards Adrienne, walking towards her first and letting the child pat his head happily before turning to Azalea and speaking in Jacques' clear voice.

"She's awake."

The witch stood floored at the information. Mimosa was awake. After weeks of labor, her daughter was finally conscious.

"Is she alright, is she in pain?"

The silver apparition shook his head. "She only just woke up a few minutes ago. I'm with her and Maman and Papa will join us soon. She understands where she is and who we are."

Azalea quickly filed that information away. Mimosa was concuss, she was aware of her surroundings. She wasn't in pain.

"Can we see her?"

The stallion looked at her with saddened eyes, his answer crystal clear. No, of course she and Jake couldn't see their child. It was how it had always been. Mimosa would be shocked to see two teachers by her bedside anyway and it was best the young Slytherin was surrounded by familiar faces.

"You'll keep us posted?"

"Of course," Jacques replied, his apology clear in his tone. It wasn't his fault though. The situation may be less than ideal but everyone involved only wanted what was best for Mimosa.

"The doctors will be gentle with any cognitive tests, there's no need to rush. It will be a few days until we know more."

"Thank you."

the stallion moved his head up and down in a nodding fashion before moving down to Adrienne's height so she could pat him again.

"The horsey has to go sweetie, say goodbye."

"Oh," the child protested again. "Can't he play with us pleaseeeeeee?"

"Not right now, but it's okay. Let's go find Ivan and Dad. We can tell them all about the horsey."

This cheered Adrienne as she gave the stallion a last cuddle before it vanished out of sight, melting in the sunlight as it ran. Excusing themselves from the stable staff, Adrienne and Azalea walked hand in hand back to the palace, Adrienne chattering all the way about the patronus while Azalea went over how she would relay the news of their daughter's awakening to Jake.

And how she would explain that they were still not allowed to see her.

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Subject: Re: Rebirth (Invite Only) Sun Dec 12, 2021 3:21 pm

"Come on, Ive, it's a nice day outside, why do you want to be stuck in here reading when you could be outside?"

The boy didn't reply to his father's question. Hunched over his book, his eyes darted left to right, drinking in the words on the page as if there wasn't enough time in the world to read what was on the page. Though, Jake thought to himself as he leant back in his chair with a soft sigh, there probably wasn't enough time in the world to get through all the books that inhabited the library at the Clement Palace. Ivan had taken after his mom in that respect, thirsty for knowledge, and almost too bookish for his own good.

Azalea had gotten the better deal that day, being able to explore the grounds with Adrienne who was excited to go and play with the horses that Jacques had offered to them the day before. Adrienne had been a bundle of energy that morning, scoffing through breakfast faster than lightning. She'd ended up with hiccups as she waited impatiently for Azalea to be ready to leave.

Ivan, on the other hand, had been excited to get back to the library. Thoroughly unexcited by the horses, he'd made the adults relent to splitting the party. Which was how the Auror had found himself sat in the library for... he wasn't even sure how long they'd been here now, only that he'd positively had enough of looking over the rows and rows of books that their hosts had.

"Hmm..." Ivan hummed, pausing as he brought his finger to the line he'd been reading to keep his place before he looked up. "This is the second Pierre I've found in these books..." The boy paused, clearing going over something as Jake's attention moved from the wall of books to his son. "It's not a very lucky name for the Clements, both of them have died during wars. This one died in World War 2... I think... hmmm... yes, that was Lord Clement's dad's brother... his uncle!"

The boy pieced together the family and looked happy with himself in that moment. "I don't think Pierre is a lucky name for the Clements." He finally decided, his eyes turning back to the page.

"Don't you want to do something else, Ivan?"

"No! This is really interesting!"

Jake shook his head fondly at that, resting his head on the back of the chair. His son was already curled back over the book, reading hungrily the history of the family they were staying with. Perhaps he could close his eyes for a minute, and just res-

"Why don't you go talk to that picture, sweetie, he looks fun with his sword!"

Azalea's voice interrupted the thought of rest, and the Auror pushed himself up from his chair with an alertness seen in all parents when someone had come back unexpectedly early from a trip with the children. His eyes found Adrienne unhurt, though, as she hurried over towards the big painting of some previous Clement or other stood proudly with a sword.

"Stick 'em up!" Adrienne insisted as she arrived.

"I think you mean, en garde!" The painting replied, taking up a defensive stance. Adrienne looked back confused in that moment before copying the painting's stance with a giggle. Looking back to Azalea, the witch motioned for him to come to her, out of earshot of Ivan who probably hadn't even noticed the arrival of both of the girls.

"What's wrong?" Jake asked, concern on his features.

"She's awake."

Jake hadn't been ready for the news that left her lips. They'd been hoping for this moment for much too long, unable to do anything except wait. The reports that came through were positive, even if very little changed from day to day, but the doctors had been quietly approving of the progress their daughter had made. Jake's features would display the relief, the happiness, and then the concern that would come only a moment later.

"Is she okay?"

"Jacques says she's okay. Conscious, no pain that he can see."

"So we can see her?"

Azalea didn't need to say the words, her features schooled in to the all too familiar picture of despair he'd become familiar with in the last few weeks that they'd been staying. Their daughter was right here, in another room, but just because she was awake, didn't mean that the rules changed. They couldn't go to see her now anymore than they could last week when she'd been unconscious. Jake frowned deeply at that much.

"They can't... we're her parents!" He replied in a whisper, but that argument had not worked until now, so it wouldn't change anything. The two of them may have been the reason Mimosa had come in to this world, but they had both given up the rights of parenthood many, many years before. They were outsiders to their daughter's life, and things couldn't just change overnight. His own pain was reflected in Azalea's features, and the Auror pulled her gently to him, pressing a soft kiss in to the side of her head as he took a moment to collect himself.

If they couldn't see their daughter, then what were they supposed to do?

"What happens now?" The man whispered in to her hair. It had been a discussion they'd never really settled an answer on. How long did they stay knowing they wouldn't be allowed to see Mimosa? What did they do when she woke up?

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Subject: Re: Rebirth (Invite Only) Sun Dec 12, 2021 3:22 pm

Azalea had known the question was coming even before Jake asked it. Of course he wanted to see Mimosa, she wanted to see their daughter just as badly. That's why the brunette was immensely grateful when he understood the answer without her having to say it out loud. Their daughter was awake, and she had everything she needed to recover.

They just weren't one of the things she would ever need.

And that was the way things were. Because Jake and Azalea had only ever wanted what was best for their daughter, even if it meant never being able to be with her the way they longed to be. It would have been easy to be angry at the Clements in that moment, forget all they had done for her little family but the fault was no one's here. Everyone involved only wanted what was best for Mimosa.

"What happens now?"

The witch took a deep breath before looking up at him with sad, chocolate eyes. "I guess we wait some more, and... hope she recovers at a good pace."

Jake nodded, giving in to the notion that there was nothing they could do still. The two sat in silence as Ivan continued to read and Adrienne continued to talk to the pictures until a clock struck somewhere.

"Alright kids, time for tea," Azalea rose from her chair, trying to gather both children who did not want to leave the library. Working together, Azalea took Ivan while Jake picked Adrienne up in his arms. Both kids were safely back in the guest suite twenty minutes later, enjoying the palace's usual lavish array of foods.

It was only after the children had been sent for their baths that Azalea noticed something waiting for her and Jake in their bedroom. The signature silver tray used to send notes sat by their bedside table with a flat rectangular box on it. It was addressed to both her and Jake.

"Jake?" she called as the man entered the room, exhaustion clear on his face. The auror raised an eyebrow before joining her by the bedside. He too had no idea what it contains.

Carefully, the witch opened the packaging to reveal a ornately framed mirror. The frame itself biased of onyxes and diamonds with a bone china handle denoting it as a hand mirror. It looked luxurious enough to be straight out of a museum.

"What's this?" she asked, grasping the handle. At once, the reflection in the mirror changes to a live feed of a hospital bed showing a small body covered in a blanket. Beside the sleeping girl, Jacques Clement sat in a chair, one hand disappearing under the blankets to clearly hold the little girl's.

And for the first time since her visit to the Palace of Versailles, Azalea saw the formidably beautiful Lady Clement, standing beside her daughter's hospital bed like a marble sentry, guarding Mimosa like the most beautiful and lethal angel in all the worlds.

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» Shall Never See So Much (Invite only)
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