There she goes. Aleron almost never shows any sign of emotion, but there is strain of being overwhelmed already in his eyes. It's rather like watching a runaway cart and he has no clue whatsoever what he can do to bring it to a screeching halt. Or just a halt. Screeching or otherwise. Realizing he's no real chance of sneaking in a word of his own edgewise, he lapses into a broody silence, even while his mother presses something small into his hand.
...it's her old betrothal ring. Maker, can't she even leave him to do for himself?
Meanwhile, Mama has already claimed Bethany's arm for a companionable stroll around the room while she chatters their ears off. "Ah yes! Your letters! They brought me such joy! And you have such lovely penmanship. My son, he is a good boy but I never hear from him. I wonder if my letters go amiss. I write and write and sometimes he writes back but he never speaks of what he does or where he goes or answers the questions I ask him." At this point she shoots Aleron another one of her withering stares because she just knows he's not reading her mail. Or if he is, he's not replying to vex her which is just as naughty. "I love him so much! But he is like his father. Very smart, very clever, but he does not know how to engage people and be charming like his sisters. You will help him with that, yes?"
Because Mama has plans that involve wresting her boy away from the Seekers once and for all and installing him and his new wife at the family estates in Rieumont. It's the perfect revenge against her father and brothers and husband. They thwarted her in their lives and she has outlived them and plans to thwart them in their graves. But she's not blind to her beloved son's deficits. He'll excel at managing the estates but is just wretched at playing nice with society and politics. That he had the good fortune to pick a celebrity of an intended? Well the Maker surely smiles on all her plans. Such a pretty girl too!
Said pretty girl is rapidly becoming the interest of more people in the room as the word passes along who she is. No surprise, at least two people have sent their servants on an errand to fetch their copy of Tale of the Champion hoping for an audience and an autograph. If there is anything in Thedas to convince Aleron that he does not want to move to Orlais in the future, it's the reaction he's already seeing in the ballroom. Bethany deserves a quiet life if she wishes one, not hounded for who her family is.
no subject
...it's her old betrothal ring. Maker, can't she even leave him to do for himself?
Meanwhile, Mama has already claimed Bethany's arm for a companionable stroll around the room while she chatters their ears off. "Ah yes! Your letters! They brought me such joy! And you have such lovely penmanship. My son, he is a good boy but I never hear from him. I wonder if my letters go amiss. I write and write and sometimes he writes back but he never speaks of what he does or where he goes or answers the questions I ask him." At this point she shoots Aleron another one of her withering stares because she just knows he's not reading her mail. Or if he is, he's not replying to vex her which is just as naughty. "I love him so much! But he is like his father. Very smart, very clever, but he does not know how to engage people and be charming like his sisters. You will help him with that, yes?"
Because Mama has plans that involve wresting her boy away from the Seekers once and for all and installing him and his new wife at the family estates in Rieumont. It's the perfect revenge against her father and brothers and husband. They thwarted her in their lives and she has outlived them and plans to thwart them in their graves. But she's not blind to her beloved son's deficits. He'll excel at managing the estates but is just wretched at playing nice with society and politics. That he had the good fortune to pick a celebrity of an intended? Well the Maker surely smiles on all her plans. Such a pretty girl too!
Said pretty girl is rapidly becoming the interest of more people in the room as the word passes along who she is. No surprise, at least two people have sent their servants on an errand to fetch their copy of Tale of the Champion hoping for an audience and an autograph. If there is anything in Thedas to convince Aleron that he does not want to move to Orlais in the future, it's the reaction he's already seeing in the ballroom. Bethany deserves a quiet life if she wishes one, not hounded for who her family is.