Parental Woes [Giovan, Nor] | Arcem Alva Forum

pikakus
Dirty Peasant

Posts: 36

Parental Woes [Giovan, Nor] Sept 25, 2015 10:03:34 GMT via mobile

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Post by pikakus on Sept 25, 2015 10:03:34 GMT

Patapatapatapatapata--

The child's rapid footsteps bounced off the marble walls, her shoes squeaking on the tile as she narrowly missed a passing guard, papers falling from his hands in surprise.

"Nice!!"

The guard jolted, dropping again the papers after picking them up as one of his superior officers rounded the corner, her boots sliding on the tile.

"Nice Gwendolen Espadas, you get back here this instant!"

She was furious, the poor guard only able to clutch the papers fearfully against his chest as she practically flew by him in pursuit.

To her credit, the girl was incredibly quick for her age, giving her mother more than a little trouble as she evaded capture. Under someone's legs here, around a corner there, she didn't look like she was going to lose steam any time soon.

Turning another corner, she glanced back briefly to check the situation, a triumphant smirk on her face; and to think, her mother said she couldn't--

WHAM!

She bounced back, falling roughly on her bottom, a throbbing on her head where she made painful contact with someone's legs.

Last Edit: Sept 25, 2015 10:09:29 GMT by pikakus

number11train
Administrator

Posts: 299

Parental Woes [Giovan, Nor] Sept 25, 2015 17:57:03 GMT

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Post by number11train on Sept 25, 2015 17:57:03 GMT

Giovan might have been ready to run into just about anything in the Guards’ Quarters, but somehow he hadn’t been expecting something to run into him. Quite literally.

As it was, he was just about to round the corner of one hall when suddenly a small skull all but ricocheted off his knees and went tumbling backwards. A surprised, “Oh!” escaped his mouth and he automatically stopped in his tracks before the guard behind him surged forwards with a concerned, “Your Majesty, what—?”

Giovan just waved a hand distractedly to indicate he was fine, his attention busy with his tiny assailant instead. A child? In an odd way, she looked a little familiar.

“Miss, are you alright?” he asked, stooping down to pick her up like any kindly stranger would do, while the sound of rapid footsteps approached.

pikakus
Dirty Peasant

Posts: 36

Parental Woes [Giovan, Nor] Sept 25, 2015 19:03:37 GMT

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Post by pikakus on Sept 25, 2015 19:03:37 GMT

As she chased her daughter through the halls, weaving in and out of corners and around people, Nor bemusedly thought that in any other situation she might be proud that her nine-year old was so quick, but right now...

A movement up ahead caught her attention; Nice seemed to have slowed down. Wondering why but more concerned with seizing the opportunity Nor put on a burst of speed, finally closing the distance between them. "Nice, don't you move--"

She froze mid-sentence, her eyes widening as she took in the scene in front of her. "You...Your Majesty--!"

Her gaze went between the king to the girl beside him, the child's grumpy expression flashing into one of surprise as she realised she was caught. Turning her head and finding no viable escape route Nice instead opted to dart behind the king himself.

"Nice--" Nor caught herself, forcing her expression back to calm as she turned to face the king, ducking her head in apology. "I'm sorry about my daughter, Your Majesty." She kept a careful eye on the girl peeking out from behind Giovan's robes. "I hope she hasn't caused you any trouble." As she spoke she smoothed out her clothes, acutely aware of how unkempt she looked thanks to the chase.

Last Edit: Sept 26, 2015 1:58:34 GMT by pikakus

number11train
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Posts: 299

Parental Woes [Giovan, Nor] Sept 26, 2015 14:51:32 GMT

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Post by number11train on Sept 26, 2015 14:51:32 GMT

Well, what do you know - the moment Normandy appeared around the corner too, the puzzle piece of the child's familiarity fell neatly into place. Nor's little girl! Of course.

At both this realisation and the child herself suddenly springing up to hide behind him, Giovan grinned wide and then had to hold back a laugh at Nor's momentarily shocked expression. After seeing her on duty as a guard most of the time, there was a definite delight in seeing her on duty as a mother instead.

"Good morning, Nor," he greeted her, not bothering to keep the good cheer out of his voice. "No apologies and no troubles, I'm the one who should apologise for getting in the lady's way." Peering around a little at the girl behind him but not moving away from his position as her shield, he rubbed the crown of her head lightly, as if to acknowledge the mighty blow she had taken.

"I see you two are having a lively start to the day though," he added, looking at Nor again with another humoured smile.

pikakus
Dirty Peasant

Posts: 36

Parental Woes [Giovan, Nor] Sept 27, 2015 1:28:39 GMT

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Post by pikakus on Sept 27, 2015 1:28:39 GMT

"Ah--" As she should've expected, the king's reaction was jovial, and she allowed herself to relax, albeit only incrementally; there were still other guards around watching, she couldn't let them see her too lax. "I'm glad to hear that, then." She shifted her gaze to Nice, at the moment curiously looking up at Giovan, her hands on her head where he rubbed it.

Nor shifted back on her heels, letting out a slight sigh. "'Lively'...is one way to put it, sir." A tug and a pat finished the rearrangement of her uniform back into place. "She insisted on following me to my office this morning and ran off when Sapphirus Shaymian pulled me out for a moment." At that she shot the girl a frown. Nice didn't shrink back, staring back at her mother with equal intensity.

number11train
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Posts: 299

Parental Woes [Giovan, Nor] Sept 28, 2015 5:23:01 GMT

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Post by number11train on Sept 28, 2015 5:23:01 GMT

Giovan's eyebrows quirked up slightly in amusement at the look Nor pinned her daughter with. There were any number of soldiers who would have cringed to be on the receiving end of that frown, but the girl didn't seem to mind.

"Ready to take on the whole world, isn't she?" he remarked, the humour still in his tone, and tilted his head down towards Nice again. "Do you get to play with your mother much, Nice?"

The guard hovering behind Giovan had frowned a little at the mention of a small child being allowed into a military office but, despite whatever logic was in his thoughts, Giovan couldn't really find a fault in the matter. Nor's position was, after all, not an easy one and he wondered just how she juggled her responsibilities between her job and her family.

pikakus
Dirty Peasant

Posts: 36

Parental Woes [Giovan, Nor] Sept 28, 2015 6:07:21 GMT

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Post by pikakus on Sept 28, 2015 6:07:21 GMT

The girl broke away from her staring contest with her mother to look up at Giovan. Rather than the simple wonder or curiosity most her age might have in the presence of the king she didn't seem to know quite what to make of him. After a moment she apparently decided that this didn't matter for now, and answered his question with a shake of the head. "Mom doesn't live in Amedra anymore, so I can't."

Nice's words seemed to trigger a realisation in Nor. Guilt flashed across her face for a brief moment.

"Nice, I told you," she stooped down to be more at eye-level, "you can see me more often now that things are settled. Come here." She extended her hand towards Nice, all the while giving Giovan an apologetic look; it had to be done, but she couldn't help feeling like she wasn't setting the best example, dealing with personal matters while on-duty.

Last Edit: Sept 29, 2015 13:20:59 GMT by pikakus

number11train
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Posts: 299

Parental Woes [Giovan, Nor] Sept 29, 2015 3:32:49 GMT

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Post by number11train on Sept 29, 2015 3:32:49 GMT

Gaze still on Nice while he listened to her, Giovan's expression became more solemn in response to her words - ah, so it was indeed like that. Before he could think of the right words to offer, Nor had stepped in herself and, accordingly, he glanced towards her and stayed silent to defer the situation to her. It would be best if she handled this.

At Nor's apologetic look, he just gave a gentler smile and slight movement of his head, as if it indicate this was perfectly fine and she should go on without minding him. Then, after a thoughtful pause, he decided to pose the question: "Did you have any urgent work this morning, actually, Nor? If not, I'd like if you and Nice could accompany me for a little."

pikakus
Dirty Peasant

Posts: 36

Parental Woes [Giovan, Nor] Sept 29, 2015 13:32:12 GMT

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Post by pikakus on Sept 29, 2015 13:32:12 GMT

Nice stared at her mother's outstretched hand for a good minute before leaving Giovan's side with some reluctance. Slowly and carefully, she approached Nor, her expression one of a child ready for a scolding.

Nor saw this and sighed, raising her hand and patting Nice on the head when she stopped in front of her. "I know you're upset about the past few months, but you can't just run off like that."

Nice didn't reply, looking down at her hands. At Giovan's offer she whirled her head around before finally looking her mother in the face, her eyes sparkling. Nor, who had opened her mouth to say that she did, unfortunately, have work, stopped, looking uncharacteristically helplessly from Nice's eager face to Giovan, and back to Nice again.

"...I have some time free." That paperwork really wouldn't take very long, if she was being perfectly honest with herself. Taking Nice by the hand she stood up. "Thank you for the invitation, Your Majesty." She glanced at the guard behind him, giving him a nod. "I'll take over for now."

Last Edit: Sept 30, 2015 6:32:56 GMT by pikakus

number11train
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Posts: 299

Parental Woes [Giovan, Nor] Sept 30, 2015 12:50:37 GMT

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Post by number11train on Sept 30, 2015 12:50:37 GMT

Giovan smiled a little in return to Nice’s quick glance and then kept his face very carefully straight as Nor gave him a look that was almost incongruous on a soldier of her calibre. Ah, the travails of parenthood, he couldn’t help thinking to himself, and would have laughed in sympathy had this not been such an important thing for the little girl between them.

When Nor finally did concede, he beamed and gave a sincere, “Wonderful!” before waving off a small starting protest from the other guard. “It’s fine, Charles, you’ve been up since before dawn. Go get yourself something to eat, at least,” Giovan assured him. After a small hesitation and then a bow and thanks to both the king and Nor, Charles excused himself and Giovan nodded to Nor.

“It’s my pleasure to have you and Nice walk with me.” He smiled down at Nice again and resumed his walk, steady but paced for the small steps of a child. “So most of your family still resides in Amedra?”

pikakus
Dirty Peasant

Posts: 36

Parental Woes [Giovan, Nor] Sept 30, 2015 17:25:58 GMT

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Post by pikakus on Sept 30, 2015 17:25:58 GMT

Nice, obviously in a much better mood, waved bye to the departing guard before all but pulling her mother over to fall into step beside the king. Nor, resigning herself to taking an early break, obliged without resistance.

When Giovan posed his question Nice piped up first. "Not 'most', everyone except Mom does."

Sighing at Nice's seeming lack of regard for proper social conduct, Nor nodded in confirmation. "We-- my husband and I--considered moving the whole family over, but his parents need him there to help manage the family business, and I didn't want to leave the estate entirely to my parents after so long. In the end, we decided this would be the best arrangement."

Last Edit: Sept 30, 2015 23:38:22 GMT by pikakus

number11train
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Posts: 299

Parental Woes [Giovan, Nor] Oct 1, 2015 16:53:56 GMT

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Post by number11train on Oct 1, 2015 16:53:56 GMT

Nice’s newly chipper mood elevated Giovan’s own, and he didn’t seem to mind when she spoke up first in answer to his question. He simply gave her a thoughtful, acknowledging nod before glancing up at Nor’s more detailed response.

“Ahh, I see. That’s fair enough,” he conceded. Nor’s roots in Amedra were strong indeed, it seemed, so her decision to move to Miras despite that was an impressive one. After a short consideration, Giovan decided to say as much. “That is admirable dedication though, to come here on your own. Is your family able to visit here regularly then, or do you keep in touch through post or scrying?”

pikakus
Dirty Peasant

Posts: 36

Parental Woes [Giovan, Nor] Oct 3, 2015 2:24:58 GMT

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Post by pikakus on Oct 3, 2015 2:24:58 GMT

"Ah--" Nor blinked, the praise taking her aback; the idea of soldiers moving for duty seemed such an everyday situation to her that to have it be called admirable-- well, it wasn't expected, to say the least. "...I simply did what I had to, sir."

She gave Nice's hand a squeeze, pulling her away from a particularly interesting wall display. "They visit regularly, sir-- or, rather, they'll be able to, now that things are settled." Another squeeze. "The past few months have been hectic so there hasn't been time to go home or entertain visits."

The reminder of the situation made Nice frown, but she said nothing of it. Instead, she directed her attention towards Giovan. Big blue eyes looked him up and down before she blurted out, "You don't look like a king!"

Needless to say, her mother wasn't pleased, immediately giving her a tug and a sharp "Nice!"

number11train
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Posts: 299

Parental Woes [Giovan, Nor] Oct 3, 2015 19:16:11 GMT

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Post by number11train on Oct 3, 2015 19:16:11 GMT

Giovan’s smile turned very slightly rueful at the mention that such things ‘simply’ had to be done, but he passed no further comment on it. Instead, he just nodded thoughtfully to Nor’s reply and then suddenly burst into laughter at Nice’s words.

It wasn’t just the child’s forthright remark that drew his merriment; it was also Nor’s scandalised reaction. There seemed to be so few things that could throw Nor off her game, but Nice was doing a remarkable job of it this morning.

“Oh yes?” he decided to address Nice, tone playful as he tilted a look at her. “What do I look like then?” Perhaps this wasn’t the best question to ask the child for Nor’s own sake, but in this moment, Giovan simply, genuinely wanted to know what Nice thought.

pikakus
Dirty Peasant

Posts: 36

Parental Woes [Giovan, Nor] Oct 4, 2015 5:39:47 GMT

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Post by pikakus on Oct 4, 2015 5:39:47 GMT

Giovan's laughter surprised Nor but Nice took full advantage of it as approval that she could keep talking, knowing that if the king didn't mind her mother couldn't say anything against it. Tugging her hand out of Nor's grasp she sidled up to Giovan's side, walking beside him now as her mother looked on, indeed not speaking up now that it seemed that Giovan wanted to entertain Nice's questions.

"Your clothes! Aren't kings supposed to be dressed in the fullest glory, with all the finest silks and jewels?" A moment, and some semblance of social propriety seemed to be remembered as the child tacked on, "Your Majesty."