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- One post per day
- Multiple posts per week
- 1-3 posts per week
- One post per week
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- Male
- Primarily Prefer Female
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- Action-adventure, adult characters, alternate universe, anime, crime drama, cyberpunk, darker themes, drama, dystopia, eastern, edo, epic quest, fairy tale, fantasy, feudal, futuristic, grimdark, heian, high fantasy, low fantasy, magic, modern, modern fantasy, modern scifi, paranormal, psychological, romance, scifi, supernatural, urban fantasy.
"It's not that I'm so worried about you 'taking up' my time. I mean, I have a few things to do that the others didn't get to yesterday in my absence, but..." Bella explained, or rather started to. In trying to find the right words with which to respond to Ben's erroneous statement, she became tongue-tied. She squinted at him, unsure of whether or not to even take his words seriously. After a moment spent over-thinking the possibility that he was only messing with her, she recovered with a smile. "Don't be silly. If I thought for even a second that it was going to be a problem, I wouldn't have come along." Even though she said that, the ride back consisted of much awkward silence.
"You don't need to apologize." She assured softly to his apology, stealing a glance at Ben out of the corner of her eye. "To be honest, there's not really much about Valford that I loved for itself." Bella offered a sheepish smile. "The house I grew up in, the garden, the smell of the ocean - sure. I mean, life in Valford was happy; but even without parties and more dresses than I could ever wear, life in Esterwell is just as happy." The words sounded well enough, still she hoped that she didn't come off as cliché. Then panic washed over her at the realization of what she'd just said. To dismiss those things like that, the very things that were the subject of conversation only minutes ago, it was like she had just told him that she didn't appreciate all the trouble he was going to on her account.
"O-of course, that's not to say that I don't appreciate you- er- this! Parties in Esterwell are actually quite enjoyable!" Bella corrected hastily with a nervous chuckle. His expression was difficult for her to read. Was the smirk out of humor or something else? She kept her mouth shut the remainder of the ride back, lest she say something else that would make her sound like an ingrate.
The remainder of the afternoon passed much as it always did, except that it was a tad busier with the impending party. With no real need to stock up on firewood and the stables clean, Bella busied herself with helping Celine clean up inside. The house needed to be as spotless as possible before they left, as surely there would be no time after returning home later that night. She was dusting the parlor when the knocks came at the door.
"Bevin. What..?" Bella was surprised to see the familiar bespectacled young man that she knew as Ben's work associate from dinner some nights ago. More surprisingly, he carried a package addressed to her. Her copper brows furrowed and she looked at him suspiciously. She didn't need to ask who it was from; there could only be one sender. The question was, what was it? She thanked him before closing the door and took the package back to the parlor. Plucking the envelope from the top, she read the invitation first.
"Better tailors?" She puzzled over it a moment. Upon opening the package, she let out a shriek. It was arguable whether the shriek came of surprise or vexation for she felt a mixture of both. There was quite a bit of fuss over the dress and, for all her insistence that she would return it, Bella wound up standing in it for a good hour while Celine adjusted it. They set out for the Perryweather Inn as the sun started its slow descent. Lucinda greeted them at the door in her usual merry way, more than glad to see the guest of honor.
"Wherever did ya' go runnin' off to? Ya' sent ev'ryone into a right tizzy lookin' fer ya'." The innkeeper had said, to which Bella apologized for causing so much trouble. Lucinda only smiled and shook her head. "Well, no use worryin' 'bout that now. We're all just glad yer home. Come along inside and say hello to ev'ryone. Young Mr. Carthwright spent a great deal o' th' day settin' th' place up." She placed a hand on Bella's shoulder and ushered her gently and excitedly through the door followed by her sister and brother and father.
Bella couldn't help but boggle at the glorious confusion that was once the homey inn. Most of the tables had been moved to make room in the tavern for all of the guests to mingle. Those that remained were covered in fine white tablecloths with blue embroidery in the shapes of birds and flowers. Each bore a centerpiece of blue and white larkspurs and votive candles in glass jars that sparkled in the golden light of the flames like new-fallen snow. They cast tiny bubbles of light that gave the room a dreamy ambiance. From the light fixtures was carefully draped shimmering webs of organza. Over the hearth was a "Welcome Home" banner. On the bar was laid out an assortment of bread and sweet butter, pies, fruits, jellies, roast meats, as well as punch, cider, and tea. Some fiddlers had brought their fiddles, so there was music.
It was quite a lot to take in and it made one wonder just how Ben had managed all of this over the course of only an afternoon. Her amber eyes drifted from one place to another before settling on the hem of her blue dress. It occurred to her, albeit slowly, that she matched the decorations. It would undoubtedly be difficult to miss the fact that this whole arrangement was for her. She spotted the mastermind at once and approached him with purpose; yet as she looked into his eyes, that sense of purpose left her. She opened her mouth to speak only to close it again.
"It all looks great." Bella said finally, unsure of exactly what she wanted to say. "You really didn't have to go to all of this trouble on my behalf."
"You don't need to apologize." She assured softly to his apology, stealing a glance at Ben out of the corner of her eye. "To be honest, there's not really much about Valford that I loved for itself." Bella offered a sheepish smile. "The house I grew up in, the garden, the smell of the ocean - sure. I mean, life in Valford was happy; but even without parties and more dresses than I could ever wear, life in Esterwell is just as happy." The words sounded well enough, still she hoped that she didn't come off as cliché. Then panic washed over her at the realization of what she'd just said. To dismiss those things like that, the very things that were the subject of conversation only minutes ago, it was like she had just told him that she didn't appreciate all the trouble he was going to on her account.
"O-of course, that's not to say that I don't appreciate you- er- this! Parties in Esterwell are actually quite enjoyable!" Bella corrected hastily with a nervous chuckle. His expression was difficult for her to read. Was the smirk out of humor or something else? She kept her mouth shut the remainder of the ride back, lest she say something else that would make her sound like an ingrate.
The remainder of the afternoon passed much as it always did, except that it was a tad busier with the impending party. With no real need to stock up on firewood and the stables clean, Bella busied herself with helping Celine clean up inside. The house needed to be as spotless as possible before they left, as surely there would be no time after returning home later that night. She was dusting the parlor when the knocks came at the door.
"Bevin. What..?" Bella was surprised to see the familiar bespectacled young man that she knew as Ben's work associate from dinner some nights ago. More surprisingly, he carried a package addressed to her. Her copper brows furrowed and she looked at him suspiciously. She didn't need to ask who it was from; there could only be one sender. The question was, what was it? She thanked him before closing the door and took the package back to the parlor. Plucking the envelope from the top, she read the invitation first.
"Better tailors?" She puzzled over it a moment. Upon opening the package, she let out a shriek. It was arguable whether the shriek came of surprise or vexation for she felt a mixture of both. There was quite a bit of fuss over the dress and, for all her insistence that she would return it, Bella wound up standing in it for a good hour while Celine adjusted it. They set out for the Perryweather Inn as the sun started its slow descent. Lucinda greeted them at the door in her usual merry way, more than glad to see the guest of honor.
"Wherever did ya' go runnin' off to? Ya' sent ev'ryone into a right tizzy lookin' fer ya'." The innkeeper had said, to which Bella apologized for causing so much trouble. Lucinda only smiled and shook her head. "Well, no use worryin' 'bout that now. We're all just glad yer home. Come along inside and say hello to ev'ryone. Young Mr. Carthwright spent a great deal o' th' day settin' th' place up." She placed a hand on Bella's shoulder and ushered her gently and excitedly through the door followed by her sister and brother and father.
Bella couldn't help but boggle at the glorious confusion that was once the homey inn. Most of the tables had been moved to make room in the tavern for all of the guests to mingle. Those that remained were covered in fine white tablecloths with blue embroidery in the shapes of birds and flowers. Each bore a centerpiece of blue and white larkspurs and votive candles in glass jars that sparkled in the golden light of the flames like new-fallen snow. They cast tiny bubbles of light that gave the room a dreamy ambiance. From the light fixtures was carefully draped shimmering webs of organza. Over the hearth was a "Welcome Home" banner. On the bar was laid out an assortment of bread and sweet butter, pies, fruits, jellies, roast meats, as well as punch, cider, and tea. Some fiddlers had brought their fiddles, so there was music.
It was quite a lot to take in and it made one wonder just how Ben had managed all of this over the course of only an afternoon. Her amber eyes drifted from one place to another before settling on the hem of her blue dress. It occurred to her, albeit slowly, that she matched the decorations. It would undoubtedly be difficult to miss the fact that this whole arrangement was for her. She spotted the mastermind at once and approached him with purpose; yet as she looked into his eyes, that sense of purpose left her. She opened her mouth to speak only to close it again.
"It all looks great." Bella said finally, unsure of exactly what she wanted to say. "You really didn't have to go to all of this trouble on my behalf."
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