25 Jan 2025, 23:09
Whatever the Future Holds
25 December 2024, Somewhere in France
"You have the invitation, right Cail? You know ---"
Colin rolled his eyes. This totally wasn't the way he had wanted to spend Christmas!
"I can tell when you're rolling your eyes, Cailean McCoire."
Aoife, one of Colin's older sisters, sat with him in the train. Colin loved Aoife of course, both the elder and the younger, but he really chafed at the whole idea of this escapade. Somehow, Aoife had been roped into dragging Colin to some horrid Pureblood ball. For fourteen whole years Colin had done his best to avoid these kinds of troublesome affairs. They only spelled six kinds woe for whoever the unlucky kid was who happened to be at the center of all the attention.
Colin shoved his left hand into his kilt pocket and fished around a bit. He withdrew a grubby envelope. It was purple. It had his name on it in fancy letters of baleful doom. He dropped it into Aoife's lap before sprawling dramatically across the seat. He watched as Aoife carefully examined the object. He had no idea what fascinated her about the envelope, for it was just purple paper with a light scent of mountains and forests. Colin was all for mountains and forests, but not necessarily what the envelope contained. His sister was an auror, however, and perhaps there was a professional interest.
"Honestly, Cail, you really don't have to be so dramatic about everything!"
"But---"!
"The LeDames are a very well respected family."
"I---" Colin stood up.
"Pureblood. Ancient lineage. Well governed."
"But---!" Colin sat down on the seat opposite Aoife.
"And I'm sure she's a very lovely girl, Colin," Aoife continued without missing a beat.
"Oh! EmmaLee? She's beautiful!" Colin sighed. There was no doubt about it. EmmaLee LeDames was the sort of girl a boy like Colin dreamed of! "Pale hair. Dreamy blue eyes. She's a duelist too! Just watching her on the piste, Aoife, I---" Colin collapsed across the seat.
"Well, then it's settled! Clearly you are fully on board with the programme." Aoife calmly read over the enclosed letter, inviting all eligible Purebloods to the LeDames winter palace, so that they could participate in the Pureblood breeding programme known as Pureblood Wizarding Society.
"But---!"
"Cail, there're no buts here! Ma has decided that it is time for you and Liam to think about your futures. In your case, this revolves around one Miss EmmaLee LeDames."
"Aoife! She's got a boyfriend already! And where is Liam anyway? Why isn't he here with us?" Colin finally got a word in edgewise. This whole winter ball thing was getting way out of hand! He couldn't just jump in and shove some other boy out to satisfy his Ma's Pureblood sensibilities. "Anyway, I rather like Em---"
"Cail. Since when did that ever matter? By all accounts you've had at least six girlfriends and countless crushes. Statistically speaking, you'll go through another dozen or two by the time you graduate. And! I'm not even counting the whole hag slug fiasco." Aoife raise her right eyebrow. Colin slumped. He'd been trying hard to forget the subsequent howler. "We're here to find you a young lady to marry." Colin flopped down on the long seat. The train's gentle motion swayed him back and forth but brought no particular comfort.
He was only fourteen! Not ready for actual marriage!
Of course, he'd dreamed about it. With Clair of course! He so missed Clair! And Vale. And Emily! Colin's heart skipped a beat. She was really fun to be with. And even Ava. And of course ... well the list went on! But it was all --- theoretical Colin let out a deep breath. He was not ready for this! Having a girlfriend was one thing, but marrying a girl? Well, that was something else entirely! "I shan't go," Colin said. "I don't see why it has to be this way."
Aoife ignored Colin's implied question. She handed back the purple envelope smelling faintly of some foreign forest. "Cailean McCoire, you shall go to the ball! And stop being so dramatic. Honestly, it's not the end of the world. But you must learn how Pureblood culture operates. You will go to the ball and do your best to win Miss LeDames's heart. Also. While it is true that she is surely a prize, there are other reasons why you must attend this ball. Reasons more important than merely trying to impress some fourteen year old girl."
"Thirteen."
Aoife fell silent. Colin's interest was piqued. He was confused. He had thought this was all about marrying him off to some bloody French family. What could Aoife possibly mean by reasons more important than the actual reason for the ball in the first place? Wasn't that the point? The LeDames wanted to marry off EmmaLee. The McCoires wanted to marry off Colin. Surely all the other kids in attendance would actually find themselves in much the same situation.
"Indeed," Aoife said wistfully. He attention was drawn to something out in the French countryside. "We will speak of it later."
@AngelFyre McCubbin | @Ava Winchect | @Meyra Lancaster | @Emily Shephard
Keep your mind in hell; and don't despair.
Cursa McCoire
Rigel McCoire
18 Feb 2025, 16:08
Whatever the Future Holds
Colin leaned against the window, watching as farms and hamlets sped by in the distance. He wanted to talk with Liam. He wanted to sort this out. He wanted to understand why this was all happening. It made no sense to him. At all. When he thought back, he could only conclude that he wasn't really raised with the same Pureblood expectations that other kids seem to have. He thought about Leveret and the rest. Fancy clothes. Fancy tutors. Electrocution lessons. No. Wait. That didn't sound right, did it?
Colin shook his head.
No. His wardrobe, even now, consisted of a couple drab green kilts and a handful of button down white shirts, plus a couple of black and green plaid overshirts. He owned no hats, apart from that floppy thing the school made them buy and he wore no shoes unless absolutely necessary. He'd never eaten a steak and had no idea what to do with all the extra forks he'd seen in pictures of Pureblood balls. A lad only had two hands right? Why did they need six different forks? Colin absolutely dreaded what horrid costume he might find in the travelling wardrobe that now resided in the luggage compartment.
His growing up thus far had been quite spartan in nature. That was from his Da, he knew. He'd said it was to prepare him and Liam for the rigours of this world and the next. Sitting on the train with Aoife, Colin was pretty sure he wasn't at all prepared for the rigours of the Pureblood world.
"We need to speak of something, Cailean," Aoife said suddenly. Colin focused on his sister. What could it be? "Several things actually. But one first and foremost." She paused, her icy eyes staring into his own. Colin prided himself on his own stare, but it was clear that Aoife had had far more practice at it. She could even make Colin uncomfortable. Wait. Could she ---? "No, I'm not reading your mind, Cail. Though I can guess what's in it!" A faint smirk played about the young woman's lips.
"There is a bottle." Colin's eyes widened. He wasn't expecting that. "I am aware of its existence, and I gather you know of exactly which bottle I speak. Neither Da nor Ma know of its existence." Colin's eyes widened further. That sentence was sure to be followed up by a 'but'.
"Yet," Aoife said pointedly.
"That could change, Cail. It has been destroyed, correct? You are not still sipping whatever it is that the bottle restrains?"
Colin blinked. Restrains? What an odd choice of words! Aoife's stare did not diminish and Colin felt himself trapped like a small creature cornered, facing down its predator. He felt a momentary flash of clear vision, that this was all part of something much bigger. "Y---I haven't drunk any of that since September," he said, barely a whisper. "Liam's been getting after me. Made me promise to stop."
"That I am aware of. I am also aware that this is not the complete truth of the matter." Aoife's eyes held his. The very thought of that inky bliss passing his lips, even now, cause his heart to race with anticipation! Drinking it made him totally free! He felt powerful. He felt joy. Colin licked his lips. "Cail."
Aoife snapped him out of his reverie. "Aye. Aye, it's gone. I promised Liam I'd not drink any more, and I haven't. The rest is destroyed." Colin shook his head slightly. More to cover up the lie than to try and dismiss the yearning for the Darkest Night. Colin felt ill. Sure, the stuff made him feel powerful and joyful. But he was those things even without it. That he could still remember. What the stuff really did was make him want more. And more. And when he couldn't get it, he felt lost. Like wandering in the darkness without any hope at all.
Colin looked out the window.
"Stupid potion," he murmured. "Makes me more myself; and then takes it all away..."
@Emily Shephard | @AngelFyre McCubbin
Keep your mind in hell; and don't despair.
Cursa McCoire
Rigel McCoire