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Post by Francis Bonnefoy on Nov 30, 2011 16:38:35 GMT -5
Francis was jolted out of his shock when the crush of guests pushed in. His first thought jumped to his companion and was relieved to see her by his side. Francis looked her over, trying to find any signs of injuries.
"Are you hurt, my dove?" he nearly yelled above the screams.
Grasping her hand firmly, Francis craned his neck to find what was causing the pandemonium, to no avail. He tried to fight against the tide of panicked people crowding in the small space of the balcony, but they were shoved to the very edge.
Cursing under his breath, he surveyed the ground below. The drop would be risky, but not deadly. Francis took one last glance back; there was no other way to escape the chaos and put things to rights other than this.
"My dearest," said Francis, "you will have to trust me now."
He tightened his hold on her hand, swinging his feet over the balcony and sitting precariously on the rail. Slowly, he tugged her forward and bade her to follow suit.
"Do you?"
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Post by Lili Walser on Dec 12, 2011 20:28:51 GMT -5
Rather than try to make herself heard over everyone else, Lili just shook her head. No, no, she wasn't hurt. She was just dreadfully frightened... Honestly, she was glad for him holding onto her hand then - the rush of people, pushing and shoving onto the balcony was nerve-wracking, along with everything else that had happened.
And then they were at the edge, pushed up against the railing. She was trembling - they had nowhere else to go. What would they do? And then Francis was moving, climbing over the railing to sit on it, his feet dangling over the ground below. She'd have to trust him now...? When he appeared as though he were going to jump? But - but... that fall...
Her eyes wide, she glanced over her shoulder, even as his grip tightened on her hand. Did she trust him? ... She knew him. She knew who he was - and he knew Gilbert... These people wouldn't help her - they couldn't protect her. They were too concerned with their own safety for anyone else to matter. And so, she turned back to him, and nodded.
"I trust you..." She sat on the railing and gathered her skirts as best she could (she couldn't show her petticoats and underskirts and ankles, after all) with her free hand, then carefully drew her feet up onto the rail and turned, letting her skirts free and grasping the railing immediately once she was settled. Wordlessly, she looked at him, unsure what was next.
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Post by Francis Bonnefoy on Dec 14, 2011 16:46:20 GMT -5
Francis didn't know he was holding his breath until he felt himself exhale at her reply. It was much easier on his conscience now that the girl relied on him. As the guests pushed further and further against the railing, threatening Francis' already precarious position, he decided to take action.
"My dear, I'm afraid we're at the most difficult part." He was practically shouting over the screams. "We're going to have to jump. On three!"
There was no time for propriety or comfort. Gripping the girl's hand tightly, he counted down loudly, the launched himself off the railing, pulling his companion with him. There was a whistle of wind in his ears as his belly seemed to have disappeared, and the next moment, he was tumbling to the ground.
He only had seconds to roll over and make sure that the girl landed safely on him. It was painful, though - he hadn't even caught his breath before the girl's weight knocked all the air out of him.
"Oof!" he wheezed, panting. Staggering to his feet, he lifted the girl into his arms and ducked under the shadow of the balcony above. "Are you all right?" he asked worriedly.
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Post by Lili Walser on Dec 14, 2011 23:26:23 GMT -5
Lili didn't want to look down. She didn't want to look down... there was nothing there to break their fall. Fall? ... Were they really going to...? Jump. On three. On... wait! What? "F-Francis!" But by that point, he'd counted, and thrown himself off the balcony railing and into space... taking her with him. She couldn't help her own scream, though as soon as she realized she was screaming, she stopped. Her eyes were tightly shut, she was curled as tightly as possible. Would it hurt, when she landed? She hadn't realized Francis was suicidal... she... her mask. Sometime in the past second or so, her mask had come undone, and was off on its own somewhere. That meant that he would know her for who she was.
And then they'd landed - well, he'd landed and then she'd landed on him. She gasped, immediately scrambling off to kneel to his side. "Francis... oh!" He'd staggered to his feet and scooped her up in the next breath. "A-ah!" The shock of being so easily lifted by anyone besides Gilbert - and being held so familiarly - had her blushing brightly and wrapping her arm around his shoulders to make certain she didn't fall. "N-no... I... I'm quite all right...." If a bit shaken up. "B-but... you... a-are you all right?" She'd landed on him, after all, and even though she didn't weigh much, she'd still fallen onto him from the balcony, and just after he'd landed.
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Post by thehero on Dec 15, 2011 14:53:15 GMT -5
Well it sounded like things were in full swing now. Alfred couldn't quite suppress the smirk growing on his lips as yet another scream ripped through the night air. He didn't think of himself as a sadistic person, but watching the nobles run about like ants escaping a flood of water amused the hell out of him. The youth was a man that thrived on chaos, he knew that, and no the irony of that fact didn't escape him.
He was acting the part of a coachman this evening, so he had not had the pleasure of setting off the bombs that had brought the nobles into their current state of panic. Bombs he'd have to thank a certain someone for again when he saw him next, he reminded himself as he watched the lords and ladies bypass his average coach for their personal vehicles. It reminded him, that bomb squad was not his role this time, even if would have been so much fun. This night they were going to try something a little different. This night, they wanted something important. Of course the Ruthians in the house were going to loot the place before the military showed up to snuff them out, but a little kidnapping never really hurt anyone did it? Okay shush, maybe they did but Alfred knew he wasn't going to harm his hostage, that's not how those things worked. If he was lucky, whatever rat they happened to catch tonight could be used for bait for a bigger prize.
He pulled his coach up as others moved out of the way, careful of his panicked horse, let alone the others, waiting for someone to pick his vehicle. He didn't look like himself, a wig, dark brown, hid his normal blond locks. He'd even colored his eyebrows, so he barely looked like the Alfred people would have known him by. Idly he wondered just where the master of the house was, Sir Francis Bonnefoy. Rolling the name in his mind, he stopped the coach as, his horse whinnying in complaint as a rush of nobles, brushed pass him nearly being trampled. He just watched them, his smirk pulling at his lips as he again wondering what his luck would be tonight.
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Post by tomatepirata on Jan 20, 2012 20:19:09 GMT -5
Antonio tightened his grip on the ‘señorita’ in his arms as they were jostled, protecting ‘her’ from the crowd. Once it had cleared out enough to let them safely move he loosened his hold and looked down at her. “Señorita, are you alright?” He noticed how pale she looked, readying himself to drag her out if he had to. “Señorita Scarlet? Por favor, are you alright? We need to get out of this building. I don’t know where the explosion happened and the house might start to collapse if it got the main supports.”
He didn’t want to have to traumatize the lady more, but if he had to he would carry her out. She wasn’t looking very steady on her feet so h braced himself in case he really did have to throw her over his shoulder to get out. It was such a shame too, he’d been enjoying their dance.
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Post by Feliks £ukasiewicz on Jan 20, 2012 22:36:33 GMT -5
Feliks just clung to Anton, trying hard to just maintain a steady breathing pattern. He barely heard his dance partner's question and shook his head and kept shaking it. The blonde was panicking and he didn't like it but there's was nothing he could really do about it so he surrendered to it.
When the Spanish man said "explosion," Feliks tensed, his shaking increasing. He didn't know if he could move but he would, because the one thing he didn't want was to be trapped in a collapsed building again.
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Post by tomatepirata on Jan 21, 2012 0:16:13 GMT -5
Seeing that the woman wasn’t going to move on her own, Antonio took a deep breath and scooped her up, settling her over his shoulder with as much care as he could manage. “Just hold on Señorita, we’ll be safe soon.” Or as safe as he could make them. The majority of the people had already fled in terror so he didn’t have to worry too much about jostling or dropping her as he hurried out of the mansion.
Once outside he set her down, keeping an arm around her waist just in case she was feeling faint. “Breath por favor, a Señorita such as yourself shouldn’t hyperventilate. It will make you sick.”
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Post by Feliks £ukasiewicz on Jan 21, 2012 0:25:45 GMT -5
Feliks squeaked as he was picked up and closed his eyes tight. He knew he could've made himself walk out of there but this way was probably quicker. So he forced himself to concentrate on breathing.
Once they were outside and Feliks was on his feet again, he resumed clinging to Anton. The warmth of his body welcome as cold shock overtook the blonde's body. Feliks forced himself to take several slow deep breaths dispite the pinch of his corset at the request.
He swallowed, finding his voice just as shaky as the rest of him. "I don't like explosions."
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Post by Francis Bonnefoy on Jan 22, 2012 17:48:52 GMT -5
Setting the girl down to her feet, Francis dusted her skirt off before tending to himself. It was likely that his new silk clothes suffered grass stains, but that was probably not what his companion was asking about.
"A few bruises," answered Francis, waving a dismissive hand. "They will look hideous, of course, but they'll fade."
As Francis peered closer to check on the girl, he felt his stomach lurch when he saw her face in the moonlight. The small face, the delicate features, and large eyes were instantly recognizable. Oh God, Francis thought. Gilbert will murder me. Painfully.
"Lady Lili! What in the world are you doing here?" demanded Francis in a furious whisper. "Of all places! And tonight too!" he moaned, trying not to imagine just how his friend would punish him.
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