A Sorrowful Promise (Benedali Serrus)

[Maka Sumoto]

Maka didn't understand why the room seemed so grim all of a sudden. It reminded him of that day... The day his mother's home had burned, and the first time the archer had ever killed anybody. The silence, the tension, and the sudden calm as he'd shot the Thul guardsman who stepped away from the pyre of his mother's house. What had he done, to make Bennie that angry in the last few minutes? And Mallory was looking between the two of them, as if wondering who was going to crack.

"Did I say something strange? All I said was that my mother died badly. The Jedi probably died better. Am I wrong?"

[member="Benedali Serrus"] [member="Mouse"]

 

[Benedali Serrus]

[member="Mouse"] [member="Maka Sumoto"]

"I..."

Benedali rubbed her face. Both Mallory and Maka's comments had made her realized that the way she was behaving wasn't even befitting of a two-year-old.

Did she have a right to be sad? Yes. And did she have a right to be mad with Maka for being drunk? Most likely, considering the fact that if Mallory had actually been an assassin she would have most assuredly been dead by now.

But that didn't mean she had a right to basically throw a tantrum. And when they had a guest over! As with the deaths of her parents, and then Alderaan being invaded, it was only natural that Benedali grieve. But now, now was not the time. She wasn't a Duchess just because. (Well, technically, she inherited the title after her father died and Arick forfeited it to become the Captain of her security, but that was a whole other thing).

So, making a very hard struggle to recompose herself, and wiping away the remaining tears on her cheek, Benedali set the glasses down, took a deep breath, and grabbed one of the wash clothes off of the sink. She then wet it slightly with water from the tap and handed it to Maka before walking over to Mallory.

Kneeling down so that the two women were eye level -- Benedali doing it as a sign of respectfulness -- the redhead clasped the other woman's hands in her own. "Mallory, again, thank you for delivering the...the news. And, please, give Mouse my thanks, too." Releasing her hands, she stood up again and gestured to the door. "Even though this isn't my home, I guess I can at least escort you to the door, right?"

 

[Nimue Stormson]

Mallory didn't want to say a thing. It seemed the tension in the room was high, even when Benedali was doing her best to stay as professional as possible. Mallroy gave her credit for that. At least that royal attitude had been good for something. She only sat and watched as she walked over and cleaned herself, though she did glance over to Maka now-and-then. She didn't know if he was used to seeing her like this, or if he was starting to sobber up and realizing how big of an ass he'd been. She didn't say it to him up front though, something best left for him to realize.

When Benedali thanked her and walked to the door Mallory began with a "Thanks." before making her way over. She stopped when she was in front of the duchess and said "And hey, you let me know if you need anything." she reached into her pocket and pulled out a card to hand to her. "Just give a shout, you know?"

[member="Benedali Serrus"] [member="Maka Sumoto"]

 

[Maka Sumoto]

Maka took the glass of water from Bennie, his hand shaking slightly. He watched as Bennie and Mallory went towards the door. His head was tilted down, so it'd look like he was staring into his glass, but his peripheral vision through the cracked lens of his glasses was pretty good. He watched the wheelchair-bound woman hand his duchess a card of some kind. He sipped at the water, and watched Mallory leave. His voice was practically inaudible, as nobody was standing right next to him.

"See you another day, Mousie..."

[member="Mouse"] [member="Benedali Serrus"]

 

[Benedali Serrus]

[member="Maka Sumoto"] [member="Mouse"]

Benedali nodded, accepting the card. "Of course, yes." Pocketing it, she looked up one last time at Mallory. "And...I know there isn't much I can do when it comes to the bottom line -- being a duchess of a Sith world tends to do that -- but...if you or Mouse needs anything either, well...I'm sure you'll know where to contact us? I-- I don't know what I would be able to do, but I'm sure there'll be something, right?"

((Sorry for a short post...can't really think of much else ;~; ))

 

[Nimue Stormson]

"Sure." she said, giving a small small. "See ya." That was all Mallory said. After that she wheeled her way out of the room and eventually back to her place. The whole time she had that lingering guilt in her heart for lying to both [member="Benedali Serrus"] and [member="Maka Sumoto"] about being the real Mouse. It was just so unfair to Bendali most of all, to know she was talking to the person who lead to her loved one's death. Still it couldn't be helped now. As much as she wanted to try and support Bendali through whatever hardships she could she knew it wouldn't make up for either the death or the lying. She wasn't even sure if speaking to her as Mouse would help either. It just all felt so wrong...

 

[Maka Sumoto]

Maka finished the water, and set it down gently, wondering why his head was hurting this way. When he looked at Bennie, he could see that she was impossibly sad. Whether it was his fault, or because Orron was dead, he felt like he'd caused it. He couldn't reach out and touch her, obviously. He'd scared the hell out of her with his drinking. His voice cracked as he opened his mouth again.

"I'm sorry, Bennie."

[member="Benedali Serrus"]