Foolish to Think

[Verie Lacroix]

"I should hardly think it likely that I could prove an effective combatant against someone with even the slightest bit of real training," she demurred, glancing to the side. "Not yet at least." She shook her head, distracted, and then apologized, leaning forward to speak confidentially. "I'm sorry. I suppose I wasn't naive enough to accept uncritically that our... ah... line of work, would you say? ... would have no need to have this kind of training, but saying it out loud... you might say it's an adjustment."

She again took a drink of water, then studied him carefully.

"How did you decide? Or... I don't know, maybe that decision was made for you?"

[member="Dissero"]

 

[Dissero]

Dissero chuckled, "Not yet."

No, Verie likely couldn't harm a fly if she tried. Yet. But she could dance her way around an opponent well enough, if her fear didn't get in her way. Eventually she could be capable of striking a killing blow and making it like a routine ... or not. Time would tell what [member="Verie Lacroix"] would or would not do to further herself in this galaxy.

She'd already pulled a letter opener on him as a Jedi, who's to say she wouldn't have used a lightsaber if she had known how?

"My training was far more ... traditional. You learned, you survived, or you perished. If you did not perish, you spent your years doing what your Master commanded, until such a time that you surpassed your Master. Only then was I free to make my own choices, and by that time I knew well enough what interests held my heart."

He might've regaled her with the tales of his many, many Masters, but Dissero wasn't want to freshen the wound that his truths had already rendered. Not when they were slowly starting to heal.

His meal arrived and he took to it with a fork, knife, and the dexterity of someone who was very comfortable around sharp edges.

"I was merely curious, I suppose, because no one had bothered to ask me what I wanted to learn when I was where you currently are now. Guess I probably wouldn't have been able to answer the question either. There's so much to choose from."

 

[Verie Lacroix]

Verie unrolled her knife and fork and spread the linen napkin across her lap. "That sounds..." Verie's voice trailed off as she tried to come up with an appropriate response. "Harsh," she finally settled on the word, leaving it delicately. It wasn't a judgment, but an observation. Verie took her fork in her left hand and her knife in her right and nudged her food around on her plate for a few moments before cutting a piece of Endorian chicken off and popping it into her mouth. "I'm glad you're taking a less traditional tack with me," she confided.

"I don't plan to overtake you," she murmured after a few moments of amiable silence, punctuated by occasional bites of her salad and chicken. After a few moments, she said, "Have you heard anything about your sister? You know - what she's doing here? Or, is she... nearby? Or in trouble?" Verie asked, then took a sip of her water and then picked up her knife and fork, ready to eat and also listen, all at once.

[member="Dissero"]

 

[Dissero]

"One day you might surprise yourself," the man perked a brow at her. He'd been bested before and certainly he'd be bested again. Dissero was prepared for the day that Verie Lacroix surprised even him. A wolfish grin followed his reply, allowing the gleam of unnaturally long and sharp incisors to show through before he took a bite of his meal. The taste of meat was a welcome reprise to one who both resented and neglected the desires and hunger that came so naturally. That beastly blood in his veins yearned for more, but it was something he'd learned over the years to ignore and overpower.

His thirst for knowledge was the only hunger that remained ever unsated.

The topic of his sister did cause him to prick an ear, a somber smile replacing his grin. Verie and Amore had always gotten along and he was curious to see how the former would take to the later now that the wool had been pulled from her eyes. What would Verie do when she learned that Amore also was a Force practitioner, and a very gifted one at that?

"She's here on Annaj, a few blocks away actually. She recently moved here... I believe she said she's out exploring the capital city. We're going to join her after lunch. Is there anything else you need, Verie? Anything at all, just say the word and I'll make sure you have it before we leave for home."

[member="Verie Lacroix"]

 

[Verie Lacroix]

Verie forked another piece of chicken into her mouth and smirked after swallowing. She had already surprised herself, even if it was pathetic that it should be this way. Years ago, secretly cherishing secret desires, she never would have dreamed that she would have both within her reach. On Kuat, women of her rank simply didn't get involved with the aristocracy. But much of Kuat had been rewritten, its foundation shaken by the Clockwork crisis and galactic war, and so now... She flushed a little and bent her head over her salad. Imagine the possibilities, a quiet voice told her, and she smiled secretly to herself.

Even more, she had long felt that her life was missing something -- some purpose, some calling -- and now she felt that she was moving towards it, finally, after everything. The role she played in moving to this position still seemed unrealistic in retrospect. Had she really chased a trail halfway across a galaxy, meddled in dark artefacts, and helped to rescue her beloved Prince from the clutches of madness and Sith magic? Well, when you put it that way...

She set her fork and knife on her plate and smiled pleasantly across the table. "I have everything I need." She clasped her hands together and cocked her head to the side. "For now."

[member="Dissero"]

 

[Dissero]

"Except dessert," Dissero replied shortly, expression serious - playfully so, "...now where's that dessert menu..."


An hour later the two walked through the entrance of a clothing boutique where Amore agreed to meet them. She was in the back, trying on various dresses and being fussed over by the Associates. The moment they walked inside Verie would most certainly pick up on the powerful, ambient presence of the red-haired woman. Similar in magnitude to Dissero himself, but on the whole a remarkably different feel. Amore's aura was calming, serene, and purifying.

A Lightsider, through and through.

She broke off her conversation with the designer upon spying the pair walk in and immediately approached with a large, white smile, "Helloooo-" Amore crooned into the board shoulder of her brother as he took her up in a tight embrace, "oh it's so good to see you. And Verie! Gosh it's been years!" Verie soon found herself swept up in a hug, "Look at you! You look so different."

[member="Verie Lacroix"]

 

[Verie Lacroix]

At first, Verie noticed the delightful atmosphere of the boutique and nodded knowingly. Places like this tended to pump enriched oxygen through their ventilation systems, to give those entering a sense of cleanliness and wellbeing and purity. But after a moment, it was perfectly obvious that there was more at play. It was the Princess -- was she still a princess, after all this time, Verie wondered. She had been out of touch on following Kuati internal affairs for some time now. She was in the midst of a perfectly Avadreia Lacroix-approved curtsy when she found Amore's arms thrown around her. The woman's demeanor was infectious; when she smiled, Verie smiled too.

"Do I, ma'am?" Verie queried, reaching up to self-consciously fuss with the few strands of honey-brown hair that had come loose from her easy up-do. She was careful not to address her by her title as normally she would; she didn't know the custom on this planet, or her preference, and it would be easier to request pardon from her than to request it from the Queen for having done something leading to the harm of her child. "I feel different, so I suppose it follows."

The young ex-ballerina took in Amore for a few moments before looking away, abashed. She was as beautiful as ever. "You look different as well, ma'am. But as radiant as always." She performed a brief curtsy and smiled politely.

[member="Dissero"]

 

[Ereza]

A nod in reply. Yes, Verie looked quite different. When last they had spoken - it had been several years now - they had both been but girls, really. Neither one sure of their purpose or their future, entangled in the world of politics and aristocracy. Rules, rules, rules. Amore's expression softened, warmed. Verie looked a young woman now, a sense of purpose in her eyes, if not yet still presently growing. This drew a curious side glance to her brother, who merely regarded the pair from the doorway, hands in his pockets and droll smile on his face.

"I suppose I do," Amore remarked gently, looking down at herself. She was taller, leaner, her facial features more refined and sculpted, her eyes carrying the weight of all these past years experiences. So much to tell, really, and so much to remain left unsaid. She touched at the faint red markings visible on the exposed flesh of her neckline and bosom, scars from her journey through the ether. How to explain that to someone?

Her smile stretched briefly, "Call me Amore. I have no titles here, much to my relief. ....Di?"

A quiet trilling marked an incoming call on the holo. Dissero quietly bowed out through the entrance door.

"Well then. Perfect! Why don't you come with me? Shopping really is more fun with a friend and I could use another woman's opinion on a few things."

[member="Verie Lacroix"]

 

[Verie Lacroix]

It was rather like Old Home Week, although it spoke volumes about the last few years of their lives that one familiar face, still living, counted as a big reunion to Verie Lacroix. People that she knew more than in passing, and who weren't dead, were few and far between for her. It felt strange and oddly genuine that Verie felt a surge of affection and warmth towards Amore, someone she had spoken to and spent time with enough to know, but not be exceptionally close with. Perhaps that would change.

The chirp of the holocomm made Verie turn, and she watched [member="Dissero"] leave with a hint of alarm, but as soon as he disappeared, turned back to [member="Amorella Mae"] with a smile, accepting her invitation with an affirmative nod. "Yes ma-er, Amore," she said, repressing the urge to curtsy. There was something familial about it -- almost sisterly. Perhaps Verie was projecting; it had seemed possible at one time, but with Verie and Dissero existing in an awkward, slightly-farther-than-arm's-length holding pattern, it was not seeming as likely these days.

Still, Verie was still a young woman, and she had credits to burn. A little shopping might prove theraputic. As she followed after Amore, she wondered if there was some kind of test she ought to be wary for. Verie took a deep breath and reached into the Force, putting herself on her guard.

 

[Dissero]

A short while later Dissero returned. His steps were quiet, his expression lighter. Good news, it seemed, had been on the other end of his call, and somehow it had uplifted him. He felt confident again, and so it was with quiet regard to the privacy of the ladies that he knocked on their parlor door.

Ritzy place that his sister had chosen to shop at, he could only imagine anything Verie picked out would rival that which he'd chosen for her training gear in price, if not rarity of material. They'd been given a private room and personal fashion assistants, a lookbook, wine, and some strange finger-foods on a silver platter. He picked something up from it and gave it a sniff - grey goup on what he assumed to be cheese - before popping it into his mouth.

A coughing fit ensued as he forced himself to swallow.

"Water, m'Lord?"

"Yes. Thank you, where are the ladies?"

"Just in the fitting rooms, they should be out shortly. Are you dressing for an event?"

"...I suppose we are..."

Dissero drank deeply, his other hand in his jacket pocket again, the tickets to the Hapan Masque lightly clenched in his fingers.

 

[Verie Lacroix]

Vaguely aware of the approaching presence of her master approaching, Verie was more intent on the line of her dress as a fashion assistant helped with the fasteners. As the zipper climbed, it pulled her the vermillion fabric of the dress she was wearing tighter to her frame. The attendant reached from behind her back and fidgeted with the line of her bodice, tugging on the silk so that it lay flat and smooth against her torso. Verie flushed almost the same color as the dress as the attendant's hands moved down to smooth the fabric around her hips and then knelt to adjust her hem.

"Beautiful," the attendant finally said, popping up from behind, adjusting the measuring tape draped across her shoulders. "Just beautiful. What does the lady think?" She looked brightly into the reflection.

Verie turned, glancing at her profile in the reflection. "You don't think it's a little... red?"

"Isn't that... well, isn't that rather the point?"

Verie pursed her lips. "Perhaps with the right makeup..." She turned and glanced over her shoulder at her backside. "But, oh, I don't--"

"Come out here into the light to see it properly," said the attendant, yanking the curtain open and pulling Verie into the central area and nearly shoving her in front of a three-way mirror. In the mirror, Verie could see [member="Dissero"] standing near the refreshments. "See?" Verie frowned into the reflection and then reached up to adjust her neckline, which in the presence of the Prince seemed to plunge much more deeply than when she was alone. "No, I think not. Much too red." She stepped off the platform and gave one last look over her shoulder at her reflection before going over to Dissero on the pretext of picking up a snack. "Everything all right?" she murmured casually.

 

[Dissero]

To his credit, he didn't let his eyes wander too far, but he certainly stared.

Dissero could not remember a time when Verie had been dressed so ... so ... well, words rather escaped him at the moment. The point being, he'd never seen her in a dress like that before. He was also quite certain that aside from her ballet attire, he'd never see that much skin up top.

He cleared his throat, feeling his collar draw noticeably tighter. Where had that sudden surge of confidence gone?

"Yes," the words came out far less crisp than he intended, watered down by the aftertaste of that horrible hors d'oeuvres, "hem - Mahet, is on his way back home...this," Dissero looked down at her dress, "is very...red - ah, not that that's a bad thing. ...just can't recall you wearing much red before."

[member="Verie Lacroix"]

 

[Verie Lacroix]

Very nodded her approval, having rather a soft spot for her Prince's companion. Mahet was an acquired taste, but she liked to believe he was a good sport.

Attention turned back to her dress, Verie's complexion darkened considerably and she looked down, again adjusting the bodice for modesty's sake. "My mother was very selected with what I wore. Baby clothes -- soft colors, nothing too bold, nothing to dark. I think this might be going a little too far." She shrugged and swirled her skirts around her ankles and let it fall back around her legs.

"Not this one," said Verie to the attendant. "Can you show me something that's not so...ah... brazen. And, um," Verie looked down at her front and folded her arms across her chest. "Um, drafty?"

[member="Dissero"]

 

[Dissero]

The chuckle that left his throat, deep and gruff, couldn't be helped.

"You're dressing a Lady, Miss, let's see something befitting of the title."

Amore appeared from her own dressing room in a lovely blue gown, and smiled brightly at the vision of Verie, "She reminds me of mother. She always did wear ruby so well... but I think maybe something a bit softer would suit you better. Tessa, where's that black and ivory dress you pulled out earlier?"

"It's here," said the assistant, holding it up for Verie to catch a glimpse, "I'll place it in your fitting room, m'Lady."

Dissero smiled, brows knit. He was a bit out of his league here and was more than happy to have his sister present to help. In his jacket pocket he turned the tickets over and over in his hand.

[member="Verie Lacroix"]

 

[Verie Lacroix]

"Oh, I'm not a m--" said Verie, but the assistant had whirled into the dressing room, trailing fabric. She looked at [member="Dissero"] with a look mixing bemusement with a touch of the forlorn. "I suppose after all this work I'm putting them through, I'll have to buy something. If I bring a new dress back with us, it's out of a sense of duty to the poor shopgirls and nothing else." She paused, her lip twitching up at one side, and then added, before turning back to the dressing room, "Don't read anything into it."

She shut the drapes of her dressing room after nodding her thanks to [member="Amorella Mae"] for identifying the dress. The attendant helped Verie out of the red dress and into a confection ivory silk and black lace in an intricate filigree pattern. An ivory cord wrapped her waist, cinching the fabric snugly to her bodice before it fell more loosely and left her shoulders bare while exposing only the bare minimum hint of cleavage. The attendant reached around from behind Verie after zipping the dress, reaching for the top of the bodice, but Verie quickly reached to adjust it herself. "I can handle this," she murmured politely, and the attendant nodded and knelt down to adjust the hem. Once it was all settled, Verie was admiring herself in the mirror, smoothing the fabric around her waist when the attendant threw the curtains open.

"Better," the attendant announced, and Verie turned. "Better," she agreed. The attendant opened her mouth as if to make another suggestion, but Verie cut her off. "I'll have it. Thank you."

 

[Dissero]

Expression light, Dissero nodded in agreement and chimed in as well with a nod.

"Better."

He smiled and he knew if Verie looked too closely she'd likely detect something very strange about that smile. He was nervous. Ever so much more than his first mission with Darth Midian on Naboo. Even moreso than meeting Saelia's husband whom he had known, at the time, had every intention of cutting his throat open.

Now or never. Now or never.

To hell with never.

"Come stand here so they can fit you up properly," Dissero intoned, motioning for Verie to step up on the raised dais at the center of the room before a wall of three ceiling to floor mirrors. The step up brought her to eye level with him and at first he merely stepped back to let the attendants do their work. They carefully moved to set the hem - marking the line in a busy silence - all the while Dissero watched, looking her over, thinking to himself that this was the woman he one day hoped to marry.

"You're beautiful, Ve," though spoken low, it came out quite unexpectedly. Seemed the thought was so strong in his mind that it simply couldn't be kept to himself. Realizing this, and with a short glance to the girl working on the dress who promptly moved out of the way, he stepped up to Verie from behind and smiled easily at her reflection over her shoulder.

"You know that, right?"

[member="Verie Lacroix"]

 

[Verie Lacroix]

The way [member="Dissero"] was behaving had Verie feeling nervous, herself. "Really, it's--" she protested, never one to prefer being at the center of attention, except on the stage, but it was too late. The attendant had gathered up her skirts and was moving towards the dais. "Oh, all right."

There was that odd rush of sensation, like little critters scurrying through her stomach, that seemed to only accompany his presence. Like some sort of allergy, it struck again with gusto this time, and Verie couldn't help but squirm when he stepped up behind her. She looked at his face in the mirror for a few moments and then looked down, her fingers knitting together at her waist. "I have my moments," she mumbled. Verie could almost feel his breath on her skin; her stomach tightened with some mixture of anxiety and desire. Like this, in these quiet moments, it was easy to forget what he had done, the things he said about it. She willed herself to stay there, in those moments when she could look at him without fear spoiling the mix.

There was some measure of inevitability about it; was it Force's intuition or women's that told her that they would be together? She couldn't say for sure, but she knew in her bones that they would. It was an unshakable certainty to Verie, a force of nature equivalent to gravity or quantum mechanics - she mat not fully understand the equations, but she knew what was. She would find a way to move past those feelings. They could build something worth having, if only Verie would let them. And she wanted to - desperately wanted to. Didn't she deserve it after what had gone on in her life? Even with what he had done, if he made her happy, didn't she owe herself a little indulgence? For someone who grew up with Avadreia Lacroix for a mother, indulgence itself was a shameful proposition, but Verie was rapidly moving past it as she sensed Dissero's form behind her.

She looked up again, pensive, with a touch of a smile. She had time to work through this - to get to a place of yes. It would be enough to just enjoy this brief moment before the coming storm of her training. She looked up into his reflection in the mirror, her eyes meeting his. "Anyway, you know what they say," she said with an attempt at levity. "The clothes maketh the man. Or woman, in this case." Verie smoothed the bodice of the dress and then put her hands on her hips. "I do like it."

 

[Dissero]

You're so much more than a pretty dress...

He felt a monologue building somewhere within but worked to keep it in. Sometimes less was more, right? Dissero cleared his throat.

"You're beautiful every moment," in his jacket pocket the Archivist wrapped his fingers loosely around the tickets and pulled them out. Reaching around her waist with both arms, Dissero gently turned her hands up and placed the tickets within them. His own hands moved to rest on her hips as he gave her some time to decipher just what he'd given her, his own smile fading somewhat.

That inkling of doubt had returned and began tying a knot in his chest.

His gaze fell down to the tickets, "and I would love nothing more than to have you on my arm at the Hapan Masque," blue eyes flicked back up to meet her own in the reflection and his voice dropped even lower, "let's go back to how it was, just for a night. What do you say?"

Give me another chance. Please. His hands squeezed briefly, gently at her sides. He knew this was all difficult for her, but did she know it was just as difficult for him?

 

[Verie Lacroix]

Verie took the cardstock that was offered and looked down at them, then lifted them up for a closer look, distracted by the feel of his hands at her hips for a brief moment before she forced herself to focus. When he explained what it was, Verie was slightly taken back. She thought they had a tacit agreement to let things lay as they were until her training was, if not complete, then well on its way. This had been an easy condition to accept in the aftermath of the bombshells he had dropped. As the shock had subsided and the time passed, Verie again found herself hoping for more, but had not expected it. Not now.

"I don't want to go back to how it was," she told him, canting her head to the side. It was an honest answer. 'How it was' involved a weak, insecure Verie Lacroix, without purpose, without hope, without anything really to keep her going besides an ever-lessening momentum. Now she had energy, purpose, focus, hope. She wanted more, in the long term. She wanted [member="Dissero"], and she wanted [member="Amorella Mae"] -- love and a family, status and belonging. Was it really that much to ask?

She turned to face him awkwardly, pulling them hem of the skirt out of the attendant's grasp. The poor woman scurried around the pedestal as Verie faced Dissero. She held up the tickets. "But... I could be persuaded to indulge in an evening foretelling what is to come -- not today, not tomorrow, but... am I wrong to think: someday?" She looked into Dissero's eyes fully, this time not allowing herself to look away despite the color rising from her shoulders to her neck and cheeks.

 

[Dissero]

The frown that met her initial response was likely one of the least stoic expressions Dissero had ever felt form on his face. For the briefest of moments he felt all his hopes slowly slip away, the silk of her dress turning to smoke through his fingertips. A shadow fell across him, dark and heavy.

He would not force a future upon Verie that she did not hope to have with 100% of her being. But Force, he knew in that instant what denial from Verie Lacroix would do to him, and suddenly he felt terrified for entirely different reasons.

"But... I could be persuaded to indulge in an evening foretelling what is to come -- not today, not tomorrow, but... am I wrong to think: someday?"

Blue eyes opened to meet her own and as though she had lifted a great cloud from his mind, that shadow dissipated. Dissero managed a weak smile.

"No," he replied, "you're not wrong at all." The smile stretched into something of growing hope, gaining traction up that slippery, deadly slope once again. Collecting her hands into his own he planted a warm kiss on her knuckles, wishing he could simply laugh off the relief that had suddenly overcome him.

"Is this the dress for the occasion or is there more shopping to do?" He snapped at a nearby attendant to start tallying up the bill, because Verie was delusional if she thought she would pay for anything at all, ever.

[member="Verie Lacroix"]