Living Doll [1x1]

[Ella]

Victoria

"I'm sorry, please forgive me, Miss Liza." Victoria said when the small doll spoke up. Before she could respond to any more of what he said, Victoria's carriage driver entered the room. Although the young Lady had told him that he did not have to be so formal with her in private, the man bowed when he saw Elias in the room with her. It was always a good thing to show respect for one's master or mistress when a stranger is present.

"My Lady. Sir." He bowed his head towards Elias after rising from his bow. He knew the colorful man from the previous night to be a magician. "Forgive my intrusion." He said before sharing the news that had brought him in. "The weather this morning is slightly foggy, but it looks like it shall burn off and be sunny by the next hour. I have checked on the status of the carriage. It should be finished by this evening."

"Thank you." The living doll replied. This was good. They could do any last minute shopping today, then head for home the next morning. They would have plenty of time to return home in time for the holiday preparations. "Collect whatever provisions will be needed for yourself and the horses today. I shall do my own shopping when the fog clears." She told him as she handed him some coin to cover his expenses.

Having been dismissed, the carriage driver bowed and left the room. Victoria turned back to Elias. "You arrived in town last evening, did you not? Have you been here before?" If he had not, she figured that she might as well invite him to come along and she could show him around the areas she had already explored.

[Throndir]

Elias

When the newcomer came in, who was apparently some sort of servant for the lady Victoria, Elias bowed his head slightly. He always tried to show the same deference as what was given to him, though, being of his stature as a performer, he didn't too often receive such show of pleasantries. He took it all in stride however as he turned once again towards Victoria.

"Some years ago." Elias replied. Victoria's question elicited memories to come back to the performer; of times light and filled with the company of the travelling group of performers. He had since left them, though there were many times when he wished he had their company again. If only to quell the sometimes lonely journeys between villages, towns, and cities.

"This was in fact one of the very first towns I performed in. It was years ago, but perhaps someone here still remembers it." Elias chuckled, a soft-sounding and warm chortle. "Of course I wasn't as good then as I am now."

"Oh he was horrible!" Liza said. Elias in turn sent his doll a look as if to say he wasn't amused. "So very horrible!" Elias coughed, but he paid the doll no heed.

"And you lady Victoria? What brings one such as yourself to this fair town?"

[Ella]

Victoria

An amused laugh escaped the living doll at Liza's words. She was sure that many performers were horrible when they first started. Of course, many would find even that entertaining if a performer handled it well enough. Victoria wondered if her servants had found her first few months in her new body comical. It was rather frustrating for her at the time, but thinking back on it, some things could make for funny stories.

"I travel around. I was bedridden most of my life, up until three years ago, so I am taking advantage of my new found health to see the world that I missed out on as a child." She explained after a moments hesitation to think of how to word her explanation. "As for this town, it was near enough to my chosen path that I decided to check it out. We ended up getting caught in some bad weather and two of the carriage wheels broke, so my driver and I have been here a while."

That's right, she had meant to invite him to go to town with her so she could show him around, not share her entire life-story. Ah, well, at least it would not seem as random a question.

"I have explored a lot of the town during my stay, so I thought I could show you around. But if you have already been here, perhaps you already know your way about. Would you like to join me anyways?" She asked. He would probably go out anyways, to perform for the public. Performers couldn't stay shut up in an inn all day if they expected to earn some coin to pay for their room.

[Throndir]

Elias

Perhaps it was a good thing that Elias hadn't explored the town last night, and instead spent the morning roaming around the inn. After all, he wouldn't have been able to enjoy the time spent with lady Victoria, or even the other guests and innkeepers. When Victoria asked if he wanted to join her to see the rest of the town, Elias couldn't help but smile and bow.

"It has been a few years since I have come here. Certainly there may be some things that have changed since then. As it stands, lady Victoria, you know more about the sights in this town than I do, and would love to accompany you on this small adventure." After having said that, the performer stood straight up again.

"We'll see if any of the town's inhabitants still remember my old troupe Cirque Plume. Or at least the handsome young juggler who performed for them years back." Elias said, a twinkle in his eye.

"Handsome? Uh-huh. Su-ure you are." If Elias heard, he pretended not to hear.

[Ella]

Victoria

Victoria forced her doll's lips into a smile at Elias's words. Performers certainly were amusing.

After a while longer of the idle chit-chat, the living doll decided that, if her driver's estimations were true, the morning fog had probably burned off. Or that it would be burned off by the time she finished preparing to leave the building. Rising from her seat, she dusted and fixed her skirts.

I have some things I need to do before we go into town; shall I meet you in the main room in an hour? The fog may be cleared by then." One of those things was to change into something better suited for the outing. Purchasing provisions in a fancy dress like what she wore at that particular moment would make it rather difficult to ensure the dress did not get messed up. One of her travel dresses would be better. It did not even cross her mind that she would have to buy food and drink for the trip if Elias stayed with her the entire day to make it look like she did eat. Perhaps she would just say that it was one of the things her driver was to get.

[Throndir]

Elias

With a bright dazzling smile, Elias bowed formally again - graceful and slow with a practiced manuever. He held the position for just a moment longer until he finally straightened back as his eyes met the lady Victoria Edevane's again. There was an almost giddy sparkle, or excitement, in the performer's eyes when he replied back to the lady.

"I look forward to exploring the town with you lady Victoria." He simply replied. Elias was glad he would have company to explore the town again. Not that the town was particularly large to warrant company to make the trip feel shorter, but company always seemed to make the adventure even more enjoyable. Seeing the sights had always been a part of the small pleasures of life Elias took in with a sense of gratitude, and because of the fact that he hadn't been in the town for a few years now, surely there must have been things that have changed. The town served as a special reminder too for the performer; the town being one of the first ones he had visited and performed for. It was an understatement to say he was looking forward to exploring the town; Elias was excited.

"Then I shall see you in the main room within an hour." Elias made his way towards the door, opening it, he stood by at the side, waiting for the lady Edevane to exit first.

[Ella]

Victoria

"Thank you, as do I." Victoria replied to Elias's saying he looked forward to the trip to town, smiling again at him. "In an hour, then." She followed the colorful man to the door, thanking him again when he opened the door for her. Exiting the study, she turned to her own personal rooms.

It took a while for the living doll to change out of her fancier clothes and into her travel gear. Although she had become accustomed to changing clothes on her own, her body was not as flexible as a human body, making it somewhat difficult. At least she was only taking off the more difficult dress and putting on the easier one instead of the other way around. Last time she had changed, she had to get the help from one of the inn's maids. Luckily, she had been covered enough that the maid would not see the few parts that were noticeably not real human parts so she did not need to make up any excuses.

Victoria straightened her skirts and sleeves before moving to one of her chests to retrieve her purse. After making sure there was enough to pay the blacksmith who had fixed her carriage and for shopping expenses, the doll tucked the purse in a pocket in her sleeve. It was the best place to keep a purse she had come to find in her travels. Anywhere else was either inconvenient, inappropriate, or in the view of thieves and merchants who might think it easy to swindle her out of her money.

It had been nearly an hour by the time she finished getting ready. She had judged her time well. Giving a quick peek out of her room window, she found that the fog had indeed burned off.

Exiting her rooms, Victoria made her way down to the main room of the inn. She was probably keeping the magician waiting.

[Throndir]

Elias

After the lady Victoria disappeared off into her the corridors going to her own personal quarters, Elias promptly started heading towards the main room. He had visited it a couple of times already during the night before and this morning after, so he knew just the perfect place to sit and wait. It was at a comfortable chair looking out towards a window with the view of the garden-like scenery that made up the entrance to the inn. The sight was calming, and though it was on its way of becoming winter, the inn's choice of foliage were of the type to last longer until the chill winds would finally deaden the greenery.

The hallways were still rather empty, and Elias made his way slowly towards the main room. His steps were light, and there was a certain smile to his facade as he carried Liza along with him. He had bumped into one of the staff, and after a quick greeting and a formal bow from Elias he was rewarded with a genuine smile from the old maid as she continued dusting the tables. The inn was indeed quiet this morning, though he noticed that there were signs that other visitors had already woken up and left to go about their own business. Elias would join them soon, but unlike many of the other travelers, Elias would have some company; at least to explore the town.

When the performer finally reached the main room, he instead went out the door, making his way to his wagon which was still neatly chained to the post. The morning wind was cool, though it wasn't as cold as the brisk winds the night before, Elias realized some would probably think the morning temperature as cold as well. But the temperature didn't bother the performer, rather he relished how the cool winds felt. He moved to a chest on the wagon, which was bolted down to the wagon itself, opened it with a key, and pulled out an instrument; his mandolin. With his instrument on hand, and Liza on the other, he made his way yet again into the inn.

There was still no one in sight, though the old innkeeper did raise his head to acknowledge Elias' entering. Elias raised the mandolin, which prompted the old man to nod his head appreciatively. With that, Elias made his way to the seat he originally planned to sit on, and with a few strokes of his fingers, the mandolin in his hands started playing a gentle tune.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/44597627/Campaigns/Living%20Doll/Music/AMothersSongGuitarMandoTrack.mp3

[Ella]

Victoria

A rather beautiful melody floated to Victoria's ears as she move closer to the main room of the inn. She had not heard music being played at the inn before, so she assumed it was either a visitor, new customer, or Elias. If she were to bet, it would be on Elias. He was an entertainer, after all.

Her bet would have won, she found upon entering the main room. No one but the innkeeper and a couple of the staff were in the room to listen to Elias play, though. It was still rather early in the ay for sitting in a building, especially now that the fog was gone. It was a little odd that there was not at least one patron eating a late breakfast, early lunch, or something in between. The term Victoria had grown up with for meals in between breakfast and lunch was "brunch", though she knew others might call it by other names, such as second breakfast.

Victoria moved to stand nearer to Elias, enjoying the music while she waited for him to finish. She was not sure how long the song was or how much longer the entertainer would be playing it, but she opted to stand rather than sit down. They were supposed to be going into town, after all, so sitting down would be pointless for that. When the man finished, the living doll clapped her hands in applause."You play beautifully." She told him.

[Throndir]

Elias

The performer couldn't help but smile widely at the compliment as he stood up and again bowed formally to the lady. True he would have liked having a large audience, but there was also something almost invaluable to performing for just a few listeners. It was moer personal and calm, in that sense it was something beautiful. In truth however, Elias simply could not pass off the opportunity to play. It was his own way of greeting the new morning and to enjoy what time was left until the arrival of the lady Edevane.

"Elias Ames at your service." He said elaborately. "I am pleased that you enjoyed the piece of music." The performer stood up as he gathered his belongings and took Liza back into his arms.

"Lets explore that town shall we?"