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I could have danced all night...

I've been practicing this spell all week!

I got into the silver dress first, of course. I still feel a little thrill when I put it on, like the first time I put on my Hogwarts robe. And then the jewelry: Mother's diamond earrings, which were always meant for me, but which I've been too young for, or never had an occasion to wear, until now. That gave me a thrill too, but a little twinge of pain, as thinking of her always does. I wish I could ask her what she wore them with, or how she thought I looked.

It was just as well that the maid was the only one home to send them up; Father's been overseas for days now. It isn't that I don't want to tell him that I'm going to the ball with Syl, it's that I don't think he wants to know.

(Do I think he would be unhappy because she's a girl, or because she's Muggle-born? I hardly know. I don't want to think of Father being awful in either of those ways, but I still don't think that he would want to hear it.)

But the more I think about going to the ball with Syl, the more excited I am. I want to dance with her, to hold her hand again, to see her smile at me. And I want her to see me in this dress.

So, now that I have everything else set, it's time to get my hair in order. So I get out my wand and very carefully start the gestures of the spell that I've been practicing - and, just as I'd hoped, my hair lifts up to gather in an elaborate knot, with each little pin sliding neatly in place.

Tidings of comfort and joy.

It's nearly the end of term,which means my enthusiasm for school work is at a low ebb. And it's particularly so this year, as all anyone is talking about is the Yule Ball.

I know Wanda thinks I'm being bloody stupid for not asking Hermia. And I keep thinking I should. We've been talking a lot more over the past few weeks, and - yeah. Alright. I do like her. She's clever, and kind, and... I like her hair. And her hands, the way they move when she's talking excitedly about stuff she likes.

And she has nice legs, which I hadn't noticed before Hogsmeade, since our robes don't give away much.

So yeah, I like her. And I think she likes me. What's my problem? It's stupid to be intimidated by her family and money and all that. But every time I think about askig her I imagine her telling her parents, and her dad wanting to meet me, and... Ugh.

I go into the hall for dinner.

Posted via m.livejournal.com.

Current Mood: excited

I watch the ripples change their size but never leave the stream

[The next Saturday, somewhere in Scotland]
[Shortly after breakfast, the entrance hall]

Mr. Filch is at the door, checking names from his great scroll. There is a great line of students, excitedly waiting their turn to rush out of the door into the fresh autumn air. The day is somewhat cloudy, but I have heard that there may be sun later in the day. But even if it pours with rain, it would not matter. Nothing can spoil a day spent in Hogsmeade.

It is such fun to be able to dress in something other than our uniforms! I have a pretty tartan dress that my parents bought me as a present this summer, just for occasions such as this. Now all there is to do is wait for Hermia and Valmont and Tez. Perhaps we shall even find time to go to the tea shop...or at least, perhaps Hermia and Valmont will. I have to hide my smile behind my hand.

[OPEN to all!]

Current Mood: excited

And these children that you spit on as they try to change their world are immune...

[Early fall of the new school year, somewhere in Scotland]
[The Great Hall of Hogwarts, breakfast time]

How glad I am to be back at school! The Great Hall is lit with its usual glorious array of candles, the long wooden tables, the ever-changing ceiling. I am smiling as I make my way to the Gryffindors' table (Gryffindor! How pleased my family were; I had expected Hufflepuff, though I would certainly be proud to be there as well) and take my place. Every year, without fail, it feels like coming home.

Before the food is served, as the chatter of the other students surrounds me, I take the time to check my schedule. First today is Transfiguration, and then History of Magic. And tonight, after classes, I have my Ancient Magic class. It promises to be a good day.

The chatter around is growing louder, and I look up, waiting to see who will join me.

[OPEN to ALL!]

Current Mood: anxious

Entry tags:

It's the End of the World as We know it (and I feel fine)

Early afternoon, outside the prison
Inside a surveillance van

Onna th'surveillance guys's hummin', an'I can't help hearin' th'words in m'head.

Light a candle, light a motive, step down, step down
Watch your heel crush, crush, uh-oh
This means no fear, cavalier, renegade and steering clear
A tournament, a tournament, a tournament of lies
Offer me solutions, offer me alternatives, and I decline...

"And I feel fine." I mutter. Catch th'look Hermia's givin' me outta th'corner of m'eye, an'I smile. Bit tight, but I manage. Don't think she should be here, pers'nally, but be kinda hyp'critical 'a me t'say so. She stood by me when I said I wanted t'be in on this, an' there're plenty't don't think I should be here either.

Eyes're glued t'th'monitor. Word is Tez annis partner'll be strikin' not long after th'gates close, try t'get outta th'city's quick's poss'ble.

Should be any minute now.

[OPEN]

Current Mood: determined
Current Music: Tori Amos - "Tear in Your Hand"

Entry tags:

I know you well. Well, better than I used to.

Previously on CSI: Excolo:

D.A. O'HARA'S OFFICE
WANDA: "Let's start with public interests and sadists. That is everything you wanted to know about Robert Reeves' back alley deals, shadow businesses and dealings with Shairan and Madame Lei. He left those with me after he destroyed all other evidence... thought I was too stupid to look, I suppose. Or too beaten into silence. Those that are involved didn't seem to know I had those. I think Lei had a idea that I knew more than I professed to but never really moved hard on it. Just some overtures from her blonde goon, and Shairan, well... he had other things on me to force my complicity."
KATE: ""Wand... why are you doing this?"
WANDA: "My past caught up with me. I don't want to run anymore. I may end up in jail, I may end up in the bottom of the Pontalier... figured I'd get that into the right hands before that happens."

A DARK STREET IN THE RAIN:
HERMIA: "Hollow, it's over."
HERMIA and WINSTEAD struggling with JACK HOLLOW, finally overpowering him and getting him in cuffs
JACK: "Think I'll make it to giving a statement?"
HERMIA: "You'll make it."

Several months later, a cloudy afternoon...

Caught a ride with the moon,
I know I know you well,
Well, better than I used to.
Haze all clouded up my mind
In the daze of the why it could've never been.
So you say, and I say, you know you're full of wish
And your "Baby, baby, baby, babies,"
I tell you there are pieces of me you've never seen.
Maybe she's just pieces of me you've never seen well.

All the world is all I am:
The black of the blackest ocean,
And that tear in your hand...

M'fingers drum th'piano riff out on the steering wheel 's I wait for th'light t'change. Might be bloody sent'mental, but I always had a soft spot fer Tori. Her'n Meatloaf. Sayid used t'tease me 'bout't, back'n school. How I had "Little Earthquakes" 'n "Bat Out of Hell" next to "Do or Die" an' "Return of the Giant Slits" on m'shelf. "Tough punk chick with a romantic streak," 'e'd say, an' I'd mime punchin' im. Kids. Suck hard on m'cig's th'light goes green an'I press down on th'gas.

Insisted't be me who told Sayid's fam'ly't wuzn't comin' home. Really, they knew already, but still got t'watch'at last spark'f hope die innis mom's eyes. Her annis dad only really lost't when they knew we'd hadn't found'is body, that'ey couldn't hold th'proper fun'ral rites, th'bathin' 'n wrappin'n th'kafan. That we'd likely never find'is body. That even if'n we did find it, likely wouldn't be'n no state for th'rites t'be performed.

They still have me 'round fer dinner ev'ry week. 'is mom's like a ghost, pale'n thin, but she still fusses over me if'n I don't eat.

Belly's down t'a deep ache now, 'spec'ally on damp days like this. But t'day I don't hardly feel't. Cuz fin'lly, fin'lly we got'im. We got th'fucker. Sure, 'e wuz'n fer breakin'is bail, but b'tween Hollow an' th'info from Wanda, we were able to get Shairan remanded. Bastard's traded in'is Gucci fer jailhouse threads, an' th'date fer th' indictment 's set. Still got a lotta hurdles t'clear, but'is wuz th'first big one, an' a lotta bottles got passed 'round th'precinct that night.

But'at's not th'only thin'. Oh, th'informant wuz mighty clear 'bout jes' how close Tez'n Shairan've gotten. MIGHTY clear. An'I know Tez. Oh, I know'im. He'll be watchin' th'news. An' news 'bout Shairan gettin' jailed oughta make't all th'way down t'Mexico.

We got lookouts all over th'city. Ev'ry cop'n town's got'is photo. Should jes' be a matter'a time now.

You don't know the power that you have,
With that tear in your hand...
Tear in your hand...

Pull into m'parkin' space 'n yank down on th'brake. Jes' a matter'a time.

[OPEN to ALL]

Current Mood: busy

Entry tags:

excolo abbey

Life could be simple but you never fail to complicate it every single time.

[Early evening, Excolo Abbey]
[Harry's birthday]

Abbey carefully makes the final arrangements to my dress, ensuring the lace and velvet ribbon are hanging correctly. All of the plans for tonight have gone smoothly...so smoothly I'm almost waiting for the other shoe to drop. All of the guests have confirmed, the kitchen is busily preparing Harry's favourite foods and cake, the bedrooms have all been aired and readied...it's almost worrying. After the debacle at the Christmas ball I was careful to scrutinize the guest list, but this time there were no surprises to be seen. Lord Kent will be escorting Miss Esterlie, and much though I find her taste in men more than a little questionable perhaps she'll be able to keep him on a lead.

Abbey asks about jewellery, and I select the long drop earrings that Alex gave me for our anniversary this year. I finally decided to purchase a number of the new ragtime records for Harry's present. Alex can't stand it, but I must admit, I've listened to some of them and I find their energy rather exhilarating. It must be wonderful music to dance to...

I can hear the clock chiming. The guests should be arriving any moment. The last touches are made to my hair, and I head downstairs to greet the new arrivals.

[OPEN]

Entry tags:

We've been rambling all the night and some time of this day.

[Late April, 1913]

"Shout, shout, up with your song!
Cry with the wind, for the dawn is breaking;
March, march, swing you along,
Wide blows our banner, and hope is waking!"

Nyx leans into my brush strokes and twitches her ear towards me as I sing. I'm in a grand mood. I've spent a productive morning working Nyx in the ring (Frost is my preferred hunter, but Nyx is flightier and more nervous; she is the one who needs the most work), it is a beautiful day, Caroline Spurgeon has been named a professor of literature despite the movement against her, May Day will be here soon, and that's always such a jolly time...even Harry has been keeping out of trouble lately.

Nyx noses my pocket and I smile, patting her shoulder. Normally George or one of the stableboys would take care of her after a ride, but I've always preferred doing it myself. During my childhood, the stable was my only real refuge, the only place neither of my parents would deign to come. So I found reasons to stay there as long as possible, learning to groom and tend to my own horses rather than leaving them to the servants. And even now I find enjoyment in the work, a certain intimacy with my mount and a new way of knowing them, their ticklish and sensitive spots, their favourite treats. So now I try to tend to my own animals unless I'm pressed for time.

Dropping the soft brush back into its bucket, I bend to check Nyx's hooves. The only thing that has been weighing on me these past few months has been Alex. Oh, we made our amends after New Year's...when Sophia told me how he had talked to her during the ball and given his permission for her to attend further protests (with Harry in tow, of course, which proved to be an ordeal, but I like to think that he learned something), I realized that I had been unfair to him. For all his stubborness and love of tradition, Alex is a good father, and a good husband, and didn't deserve the tongue-lashing I gave him. We made our amends, and indeed, we had a marvellous anniversary in London. Twenty-three years now, he and I have been together, and I wouldn't trade away a one of them.

The worry that I have is that he is troubled by memories of the war. Oh, he's said nothing to me (of course he bloody hasn't), but he's seemed more worn, more strained, and I don't think he's sleeping well. It's having Islip here, I think...a constant reminder of the hell he suffered, but of course he remains maddeningly close-mouthed.

Well, there's nothing to be done about it. I give Nyx a last pat and leave her stall. Her brushes will be left in the tack room, I'll give a quick hello to Frost and Lampus, and then back to the house. Perhaps later I'll ask if Hope wants to go for a ride. She can't ride on her own, but I can ride Lampus (he's too old for hunting, but not for a gentle amble about the woods) and lead her on a quiet animal. Perhaps she'd enjoy that.

Entry tags:

CSI: Excolo, Episode 3.05: One For The Good Guys

Previously on CSI: Excolo:
IN OAXACA:
TEZ: What the fuck're you doing here? What about your parole?
AL: I am going to leave everything in Excolo, azizam. I need this.I had blood on my hands earlier today - yesterday -
CUT TO A WAREHOUSE AT NIGHT; JIN'S BODY IS SLUMPED OVER, TIED TO A CHAIR. AL CONTINUES IN VOICEOVER:
For you. Someone put you in danger, and I will not let that happen.
FADE TO: A HOTEL ROOM IN ARKHAM. DORIAN SITS ON THE BED. SAPPHIRA ENTERS.
DORIAN: I need your help.
CUT TO: THE DIABOLIQUE. WANDA LOOKS SHOCKED.
PERCIVAL: Miss me?
CUT TO: PRECINCT EVIDENCE ROOM.
HERMIA: There's something going down tomorrow night. Something big...I'll see you tomorrow night. Take care.
JACK: You too.
JACK LEAVES; HERMIA TAKES OUT HER CELL. PAN IN TO SCREEN:
TEXT MESSAGE TO SYL: One down.

Rain is pattering against a window. The camera pans out to reveal it's the office of Kate O'Hara. She's reading a news site on her PC; the camera zooms in on the headline. TYCOON ARRESTED FOR BREAKING BAIL CONDITIONS. Underneath is a grainy photo of Al Shairan in handcuffs at the arrivals lounge of Excolo Airport.

I finish reading the article and then close the browser, shaking my head. I'd say this is one for the good guys - Al Shairan's behind bars - but I'm afraid this town has made me too cynical. Yes, he left the country when his bail conditions explicitly forbid him from leaving the country, and I've heard a rumour that he was travelling on a false passport... But the man has more money than Croesus and that money pays for very good lawyers. I should know; one of them keeps trying to recruit me. No, I'm sure he'll be out soon enough... unless we find something else to charge him with in the meantime. I think a lot of people are working very hard right now to do just that. I sip my coffee and go back to my paperwork, glancing up when thunder rolls hard nearby. It's pretty wet out there. Not that it matters; I don't have time to go out for lunch.

Entry tags:

excolo high

High School: Reunion

Excolo High: Class of [handily obscured date] 10th Anniversary Reunion, hosted in the gymnasium, which has been tastefully decorated with flowers and balloons in the school colours. A DJ is on hand to play all those hits to remind you of your awkward high school days. And there's a bar. Thank God.

In the parking lot I check my hair in the mirror and sigh. Why am I here again? It's been years since I've been back to this shitty town. I suppose a bit of it's a fuck you - to the people who keyed my car in high school, to my dad for cutting me off when I was in college because I wouldn't "give up" being gay (not that I was poor; he couldn't touch my trust fund, but that's not the point). That's why I couldn't resist the outfit I saw on Vivienne Westwood's catwalk - the suit's nice enough, and the fruit t-shirt - well, that's a sly sort of dig, isn't it? Here I am, former classmates and teachers: I'm doing so much better than most of you. My interior design business broke its first million this year, and yes, I had good contacts, but I still built the company myself. And I can look at wallpaper swatches all day and nobody will complain. (Not that I'm thinking of Tez. Not that it matters if he shows up. It's been six years since we broke up, after all.)

I glance at my hair again. It's still strange, sometimes, having it cropped so short. It makes me look more severe. But when my hair grew back after chemo it was darker and coarser, and I didn't like it very much, so I've kept it short. At least it shows off my cheekbones. The hair and one testicle are souvenirs of my exciting voyage through cancerland. I like to think that three years on it doesn't show.

Okay. Time to get this show on the road.

Entry tags:

excolo abbey

Chapter 5 continued

The house of Alfred Whitman, 1st Viscount Kent, in London's exclusive Belgravia area. The New Year's Eve party is hosted by the lady of the house; since his wife is dead, the duty falls to The Hon Arabella Whitman, his daughter.

I'm so excited to be hosting Papa's party! My dress is just the most darling thing and I know I look perfect. And sometimes I complain to Papa about living in Belgravia - it's so stuffy, I'd much rather be in Chelsea - but I must admit our ballroom makes the house worthwhile.

I can hear the musicians tuning up as Jinne puts the final touches on my hair. I just know tonight is going to be wonderful!

Entry tags:

excolo abbey

Chapter 5: Auld Lang Syne

Cadogan Square, one of London's most exclusive addresses, is where the Sherrards have their London house. This is where the family spend most of the Season, the April - early August period of parties and other important social events. The house is occasionally opened up for other events, though if Lord Carnarvon travels to London on business he'll normally just stay at his club, since the house only has a small skeleton staff. Accordingly, for this New Year's visit they have brought several of the main household from Excolo Abbey with them.

The afternoon of New Year's Eve

I'm quite looking forward to the servants' ball this evening - it will be a bit different, being away from home and our large ballroom, but I think everyone will enjoy the novelty of being in London. I'm less certain that I will enjoy Lord Kent's ball tonight, but it is a celebrated event and it would do Sophia and Harry good to be seen by Society, especially since it seems as if Harry's marriage to Miss O'Hara will not be taking place after all.

I spent this afternoon shopping for an anniversary present for Sylvia, as that occasion is coming up soon. I hope she likes the jewellery I've found her. The ladies are taking advantage of being in London to do some shopping and visiting, I think, and the servants are rushing about to get things ready for tonight. I, meanwhile, am taking advantage of some time to myself and am blissfully ensconced in the small library we have here.

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Chapter 4: On The Feast of Stephen

Outside Excolo Abbey, Boxing Day morning: the Hunt gathers

Christmas Day yesterday was - pleasant, yes, but odd. I think the only part of it I really enjoyed was church, mostly because that was familiar. The rest of it felt strange. I've never been away from home at Christmas before. I hope Da was alright without me. (And oh, he'll be disappointed when I go back and tell him the engagement hasn't happened!)

I'm quite looking forward to the hunt today, though. I don't actually care much for hunting, but I like riding. Fresh air and exercise and seeing the countryside: what's not to enjoy? And it's a lovely bright day today, though cold. I sit on the horse I've been loaned, a nice grey mare called Lady, and accept a glass of wine from one of the footmen. I always find this part of the hunt a bit odd - mingling while on a horse is just strange! But it's usually friendly and lighthearted, without as much formality as a party, so I'm sure I'll enjoy it. And then we can get out into the crisp air and do some good riding.

Entry tags:

excolo abbey

Chapter 3: Tis The Season

Christmas Morning

The ball last night was lovely. I so enjoyed dancing with Harry! And I think he made up with Miss O'Hara, which I'm glad about. She's here until New Year's Day, and so I'm hoping there's still a chance he might propose - and be accepted.

Today's another bright day, I can tell from the glare through the windows, and Genny tells me there's a fine blue sky and a frost like icing sugar over the lawn. It sounds so pretty. I'm looking forward to Christmas lunch later on - it's fun to serve ourselves from the buffet, and afterwards there's cards and charades and usually I play the piano. And dinner tonight with the Christmas pudding. I can't see it come in all flaming, but the oohs everyone makes each year let me remember very clearly when I could. It's a nice memory to have.

For now, some of us - those without horribly sore heads! - are off to church in the village. I love singing carols in the morning!

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Chapter 2: Deck the Halls

The Christmas Eve Ball has been an Excolo Abbey tradition for generations. I know it dates back to at least my great-grandfather's lifetime. Here we welcome all of good local society, and some guests from further afield, to enjoy what is usually a very long and very merry evening. Tomorrow the family will rise late - I expect there may be some sore heads among the gentlemen - and our lunch will be a buffet affair we serve ourselves, to give the servants a rare opportunity to all eat together and enjoy Christmas. That was a custom my father started, and one of the few things he got right at Excolo, I think. Then in the evening we will have our Christmas dinner as usual.

Sylvia and I inspect the arrangements for tonight. The ballroom looks beautiful, decorated in evergreen, and with candles lit it will look very festive indeed. The drawing room is ready, the furniture having been moved to allow the guests to circulate easily. Our staff know exactly how the ball works, and so we've needed to give them little direction. So all I have to worry about is playing host, and to hope that by the time the supper announcement comes we'll also be able to make an announcement about Harry's future.

It's too early to dress, but I end up in my dressing room anyway to seek a few moments of peace. At least I always know what I'll be wearing to these things; I'm sure the girls will be deliberating for hours.

Entry tags:

excolo abbey

Chapter 1: Merrily on High

Excolo Abbey; the morning of 23rd December, 1912

It is a fine bright day, clear blue skies and a frost over the lawn, which I can see from my desk in my study. I finish writing a couple of letters of business, which I pass on to my estate manager, and then I warmly wish him a very merry Christmas and say I will see him in the New Year. Business, at least of an official kind, is over for now. This morning the great Christmas tree was erected in the hall, causing much excitement as usual. Today several of our guests for the Christmas season will arrive; tomorrow is the Christmas Eve ball for all the reasonable quality people of local society, and our house guests, of course; Boxing Day is the hunt... And then in a short space it will be 1913.

1913. I stand up and look out over the garden, which has remained mostly unchanged in the last decade. I am thinking much of the past today, because Islip will be arriving soon. How very long it has been since I have seen him! We have exchanged Christmas cards in the intervening years, but I have had no other word from him until very recently, when he enquired about whether I knew of any work that might be available for a man of his skills. For him to swallow his pride and ask me led me to think his situation was not perhaps very good; and so quite spontaneously I offered him the role of valet. Brown had been intending to retire, and indeed he really was getting too old for the role. I know I have put Percival's nose out of joint, since he expected a promotion from first footman to valet, but there we have it: I must help an old friend. We saw a great many things together, and suffered more than I have ever let my family know. I look forward to that quiet... kinship we seemed to share, the peace we felt in each other's company despite our difference in status. I hope neither of us have changed so much that we have lost that.

My wife is, I believe, busy with Mrs Parras making the last decisions for the party tomorrow, and so I decide to stroll to the library and read the paper before the house is beset with guests.

Current Mood: angry

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Chapter 5: Darkest Before Dawn

A month later

The ramparts of the castle, Excolo

It's a bitter day here compared to most we've had, though I don't mind it - we had colder days than this even before we came south. The pampered darlings of the palace are shivering, and I take some spiteful sort of pleasure in it. There's nothing here that pleases me now; everything lovely here reminds me of Mia, and every bitter thing makes me regret that we ever came. If we had stayed at home she would be alive. I am certain of that, now, after what the king told me.

I believe I went out of my mind for a little while, after Maester Luwin showed me what was inside the pendant. He'd never seen anything like it before, even with his knowledge of poisons, but they had consulted with an apothecary in the city and with a healer from over the sea and found that it was hebenon, an exotic and expensive poison. It is the resin of a tree that grows almost nowhere in the world... But it is known that there are such trees in Ladon.

Now I cannot think that this diplomatic mission from Ladon is a coincidence. My darling was used as a pawn in someone's game. Was it the Dians, as I've suspected, or the dragon fuckers of Ladon? Or perhaps they're working together to undermine the king and me both.

It would have been better for them if they'd poisoned me. I'd have died willingly in her place, but since I am doomed to live, it seems, I will have vengeance for what has been done to my love, at whatever cost.

We expect the party from Ladon to arrive soon; they were due yesterday, but the weather has been bad. Scouts are on the road, looking ahead for them. And I will smile and smile and play the villain if I must. I will make friends in high places. And when I find who poisoned Mia, I will kill them all.

Entry tags:

iron throne

Chapter 4: Iron in the blood - part 2

The next day

The feast went well, all things considered, and Lord Valour seems to have made a good impression - except on the Dians, of course, but that cannot be helped. I am worried that one day their antagonism will come to open conflict, but I'm not sure how to diffuse that... I would like to speak with my aunt, but after my Council meeting this morning Valour was called away with news that Mia was once again unwell after her brief improvement last night, and so I don't want to disturb her.

The Council meeting brought me plenty to think about, in any case. We received a remarkable letter from Ladon, requesting that they may send us a diplomatic mission. We have not had diplomatic relations with Ladon in generations. It would be no bad thing, in my opinion, to find a way for our countries to cooperate, particularly with winter coming. Further economic opportunities through trade would be invaluable in a hard season. I'm not stupid, though; I know that Ladonites are a dangerous, tricky people, and their abominable faith is rightly disliked by our populace. I have made it known to my Council that I'm in favour of a small party being given diplomatic passes into the country, but I know they will wrangle for days about the details.

I go out into the Rose Garden, where the late season blooms are faintly frosted with ice, although the frost has melted off the grass under the noon sun. It's not quite cold enough yet for the ice to stay, but I think in mere weeks there'll be snow on the ground.

Entry tags:

iron throne

Chapter 4: Iron in the blood.

A month later

King's Castle, Excolo City

And so I am king.

This morning the first flakes of snow fell, and the priest struck the great gong in the temple of the Air Above and pronounced that winter is come. Though we know it'll get much colder than this. Much colder. I can barely remember the last winter, and the thought of feet of snow makes me feel strangely sick. It will be like the whole world is in mourning for years. Last winter was quite mild, lasting only two years out of the Great Year, but I know there have been winters that lasted as long as five. At least here in the south it will never be as cold as the miserable north...

Speaking of the north, the castle is full of northmen still, because my Lord Wolfsbane has become my regent. It has caused something of a stir, not least amongst the Dians, but I trust Valour more than most men - and I trust his wife, my aunt, more than nearly anyone. I suppose the only person I trust more is Lyric, but it's not as if my father's mistress could be my regent. The Dians have tried to force her out, but I've put my foot down. I'll not have one of my few friends sent away.

Tonight there's a feast to celebrate Lord Wolfsbane's official investure as my regent. For now I'm trying to read over some papers from the Council and make sense of them. They all say there's no need, since I'm still by law a child, but I'll have to understand them one day so I may as well make a start now.

Entry tags:

!adult content,
csi

CSI: Excolo Episode 3.04: Shot Through The Heart

Previously on CSI: Excolo:

CONSTANTINE: You fuckin' cocktease!
He attacks GLASS, and is beaten unconscious by DORIAN. CUT TO: GLASS and DORIAN getting intimate, blood smeared between them. CUT TO AL and TEZ having phone sex. CUT TO: blurry photographs of TEZ and SAYID. CUT TO:
KATE: How did you get these?
SYL: Told ya. Onna Sayid's informants.

TWO WEEKS LATER:

We start with a black screen; Jon Bon Jovi's "Shot Through The Heart" is playing very loudly as the scene fades into a warehouse at night. As we pan down from the ceiling we can faintly hear beneath the music muffled cries of pain. After a little while they stop.

Oooh, you're a loaded gun -

We see a bloodied hand reach out and turn off a radio; the song stops abruptly.

That became a little... messier than I initially intended. I look down at Jin's body. It has been some time since I took care of work like this myself, and a long time since I did it in anything other than a clean and careful manner. I am afraid I let my feelings - run away with me.

After Hollow this morning passed me the information that a warrant is to be issued for Tez's arrest, I of course began to investigate on what grounds the murder charge was being brought. Photographic evidence. I knew who was in charge of looking after Tez that day.

It did not take very long for Jin to admit that he had intercepted a photographer that day in the park when Tez took care of Zuabi.

A photographer.

I am afraid that I lost track of things for a little while, there. And now Jin cannot identify the woman, which is unfortunate. I should have been more careful. If this were about anything else, I would be. But the blinding terror of anything happening to Tez makes me forget my caution, sometimes.

I wipe my hands on a cloth and think absently that Jeanie will be quite upset her cousin is dead. But I expect she will understand why it happened. She knows how little I can tolerate mistakes.

After the clean up team has arrived I go back to my apartment. I take delivery of a parcel, which is filled with false documentation. Jeanie has already had someone pack me one suitcase of clothes suitable for Mexico, because I asked her to do that this afternoon, and I go to the airport. I know she is angry that I am going, that it is violating my parole. But I will risk it, because I need to warn Tez. And I need to make arrangements to move him. Luckily for me, the process of extraditing suspects from Mexico to the United States is a slow one, particularly when one has Mexican citizenship. They are always concerned about their sovereignty, and so Tez's dual citizenship should slow matters down. Nonetheless, I do not want to take the risk. He needs to be moved. But this is not something that I should tell him on the phone. It needs to be face-to-face, and it needs to be now.

Using my new passport - Alexander Sherman, how original - I board the plane. Soon, love. It is only when I am on my seat in first class that I notice there is blood ground into the engraving on my wedding ring. But I do not clean it off. Tez may like to see it.

For the first time since this morning I smile.