A Little Family Time

[Maria Etheridge]

Dinner, that evening meal where one supped heartily after a trying day. At least, that's what dinner was now. Dinner used to be taken much earlier in the day. But ah, the pleasures of words and the changes they make over time. All Maria knew was that it was nearly time for dinner. She had just started the third act of Romeo and Juliet when the clock chimed in her room. Six o'clock on the nose. Dinner was scheduled for six thirty. She tucked away the book under her pillow. She knew that no one entered her room when she visited the castle, but better safe than sorry. She had a feeling the boys had had their little mock fight after all. Depending on who won it would be a very interesting meal. As the boys had been busy, she had taken the liberty of preparing for dinner. It was in a small dining room, rather than in one of the larger rooms. Intimate setting and less likely to cause a ruckus. As Maria entered the room at six-fifteen, the table was set, three chairs around a round table. The empty plates stood before each seat and a variety of covered dishes filled the center. A variety of drinks stood on the sideboard and the room was void of servants. Just as she requested. Lovely.

Maria sat down at the table facing the door. Now all she had to do was wait for the boys to arrive. The door creaked open a few minutes later and Gavin strolled him. She assessed him quickly, noticing that there was a slight bulge under the sleeve of his left arm. Most likely from a bandage. She stood as he entered, signing with a small smile. “Evening, cousin. How did your battle go?”

A moment or two later, the door opened again, signalling her brother had arrived. And she knew exactly who had won the fight. Brendon had a band-aid across his cheek, likely from a slice from the sword. But more importantly, his facial expression was slightly darker than normal. He seemed to have fought well but in the end, Gavin had dominated. How... terribly sad. If Maria were a poor actress, she would have chuckled. But her polite smile remained. “Ah, brother. Good evening to you as well.”

[Gavin Etheridge]

On old black and white TV shows that aired in Creta in the 50's, dinner was always heralded as the pinnacle of the day, and something to look forward to. A time when you got to spend time with your family and only talk about things that were pleasant. It was always a charming affair, filled with much bullocks and ass-patting. For Gavin, family dinners usually meant he had time to unwine and have dinner with Sorcha and Artemis, and growing up the ones he looked forward to were dinners with his uncle, Theo, and Caoimhe. They were relaxed and happy. They were what the TV shows emulated and pretended to be; there was love at the table. Needless to say, dinners with his own parents, the King's brother, and his cousins Brendon and Maria were sometimes only slightly more civil than forced smiles while wondering if that would be the night someone drove a fork into someone else's thigh. Gavin often wondered growing up if dining with the NCA would have been much different.

But Brendon and Maria were almost all the King had left, now. Theo had fled, and though there were still orders to bring him back alive and unharmed, Gavin wasn't pushing anyone for his retrieval and rather doubted they'd catch him if they tried. He needed to try and reforge that bond with the Prince and Princess of Carraig, if not for his sake, than his country's to give his people a more stable platform calling the shots. How could you trust the royal family when they couldn't even sit together? Dinner felt awkward, though, not dining with his girl, and not having Artemis nearby; that guard had become so much more than her title or post demanded of her, and it wasn't much of a secret that without Artemis by his side Gavin would, most likely, be lost entirely and unable to function. But tonight, he promised it would just be the three of them to have dinner together, enjoying the company of each other for the whole meal and trying to reestablish themselves as a proper family. God help him.

Cleaned up and his hair pulled back, Gavin was dressed casually, the dark charcoal button-up shirt loose and tucked into his slacks, the sleeves of his shirt neatly rolled up to the middle of his forearms. Part of Gavin hoped that by it being only the three of them and no servants and by dropping formalities they could more easily be themselves. Maybe. Smiling lightly, Gavin pushed open the door to the smaller dining room, his cousin Maria standing to greet him. Her hands moved smoothly, quickly signing to him. “Evening, cousin. How did your battle go?” He couldn't help but smirk a little from that. Sure, Brendon had managed to get a decent hit in; he'd actually managed a small stab as a matter of fact. But half an inch of sharpened steel wasn't enough to deter the King, and if anything, only provoked him further to the outcome.

"Very well, thank you. Have you enjoyed your afternoon?" Gavin moved to a vacant seat at the table, looking at the covered plates and then at the sideboard where the glasses and carraffes were. That would be needed, without a doubt. They had only to wait for Brendon before they could sit down and have-- Aha, there he was, the door opening and Brendon walking in. Removing his aid, Gavin's fingers tapped quickly over the keypad. "Good evening, Brendon." He could have called him Bread. He wanted to. But the urge to try and be a civilized grownup lingered, and he didn't want to be the one to start off the night misbehaving. "So nice that we are all here. Perhaps this can become more of a regular habit." Ever the optimist.

[Brendon Etheridge]

Loss. Loss was something that most people lived with in their day today lives, they could live with it, except it, hell some might even welcome it. Loosing meant you had something to strive for to most people. But not Brendon, ohh no! On the contrary, to him loss meant he was not good enough, he hadn't tried hard enough, or the other person had been BETTER then him. Brendon hated to lose as a general rule, but he hated loosing to Gavin most of all.You would think that the washed up,weak willed, and ill prepared king would be an easy opponent and he had been for the first part of the fight. Brendon had played with him, toyed with him and in the end had managed to sink his steel into his flesh. That had been his undoing. Not only had he gotten cocky, but the slice seemed to enrage his cousin and in the end the prince had fallen. In more normal circumstances he would have been pleased to see the furry of the Etheridge line in his cousins eyes. Theirs was a family of warriors and berserkers who had united the diverse and violent tribes of their land and made them into a fighting force universally feared, and sought after.

But that battle furry had been directed at him, and that more then anything else had surprised him. What had brought it on? The intensity of their fight? The sheer pain that came from being stuck with a blade? Maybe the antagonistic feelings that had been flying threw the air. He had seen something in his cousins eyes he had never seen before, and for a moment it had cowed him, and in that single moment he had lost the battle.

Now he would bare the mark of that shameful defeat for a long, long time and as he stood outside the dining room doors he raised his hand to his cheek and felt the band aid that covered his shame. He the Lord of War and he had lost a battle. He would never allow him self to lose again. With a sigh he lowered his hand and strode into the dining room, where he was sure, more dueling would begin.

“Ah, brother. Good evening to you as well.” He looked at her, and her calm, polite smile and nearly sneered. He knew, just knew she was laughing at him inside her own mind. Truly it was a pity that his sister was such a good actress, or at least more easily startled. HE would have loved to see that mask slip just once. "Maria, its a treat to see you twice in the same day... Tis such a rare occurrence" He offered her a dazzling smile and bowed ever so slightly before turning to look at Gavin."Cousin i hope your arm isn't troubling you to much, I know how hard to can be to write all day with an injury like that."

He moved to sit across the table from Gavin and placed him self on his sisters right and forced him self to bury the emotions he currently felt. There was a time and place for rage and resentment, the dinner table just wasn't one of them.

[Maria Etheridge]

Maria nodded in response to Gavin's question but did not reply, as Brendon had entered the room. Brendon was his usual cheerfully obnoxious self towards her. Disgusting. Why did he think it was so amusing, seeing her twice in one day? When he actually stayed at the manor, they saw each other plenty of times. But apparently her brother was forgetful. Ah, and rather sore about his loss at well. Oh, he played it off nicely, commenting about Gavin's arm. But she knew damned well that he was distraught over the loss. Probably pretty angry too. But he was hiding it well. He was almost as good as actress as she was. Brendon sat at her right, and she watched Gavin sit opposite.

She went around to the sideboard and decided to continue her role as hostess. She moved the bread and butter to the table, along with a large knife to slice the bread. She also set a variety of cheeses down before going back to the sideboard. “Can I get either of you a drink to begin? Please allow me to serve you two. You've had a far more trying day than I have.”

[Gavin Etheridge]

Soooo.... the three of them were having dinner together. No servants, no cheery bodyguards, and no darling daughter. Gavin would be lying if he said it ddin't feel strange, so very used to his usual dinner company. Hell, even having Fiachra to dinner as Arty's guest was something he was much more used to, and due to Fia's size servants were often scrabling to find chairs and platters big enough. It was strange territory, and part of him wondered what they'd even talk about if they left politics out of it.

And he wasn't sure if it was more uncomfortable or amusing to be dining with them tonight, Brendon's mood dour as he seemed to just barely hold back the reins of his brooding. The mark on his cheek really hadn't been intentional. Well, it had, but not in any malicious way. Just as surely the stab into Gavin's arm hadn't been. "Cousin i hope your arm isn't troubling you to much, I know how hard to can be to write all day with an injury like that." Gavin smiled faintly, giving it a small, dismissive wave with the hand attached to the arm that wasn't sore, gesturing that it was nothing. All these years... Somtimes Gavin wished Bren had learned sign language too, but at least he had the speech aid. A lack of telepathy was either a blessing or a curse.

Gavin watched as Maria rose and moved to the sideboard, continuing to act as hostess. Part of Gavin felt he'd stepped into the Twilight Zone. It was actually a little creepy just in how alien it was, but at the same time, Maria was indicating the one thing that could probably keep them all sane during dinner and maybe come to a happier ending than not: the wine. "Wine please? Might as well start the night off proper, and it was a good thing having to think about signing and typing gave Gavin space to think between responses so he wouldn't slip about things that would cause problems. Gavin's fingers reached for his aid, looking to Brendon, his smile almost apologetic, knowing his cousin was probably feeling just as awkward. "Thank you, Maria. Wine for you as well, Brendon?"

[Brendon Etheridge]

A dismissive wave of his hand was the only meaningful response Brendon got from his cousin. Now he knew the man couldn't speak, he also knew it was his fault for never learning sign language(Which he had neglected on purpose) but the man could have... Well he didn't know what else he COULD have done but in his current state of mind he thought that he should have done something, anything to acknowledge him farther. “Can I get either of you a drink to begin? Please allow me to serve you two. You've had a far more trying day than I have.” Wine, wine just wasn't strong enough for a "friendly" family dinner like this. But it was likely the best he would be getting tell he was alone in his rooms."Thank you, Maria. Wine for you as well, Brendon?" He just nodded his head and glanced around the room and suppressed a grimace. The decor was what one would expect of a royal dining room, rich fabrics, exquisitely carved wood work and all that was good... But did the suites of old armor have to be left out? They should have been replaced with something just a tad more tasteful.

"So, whats on the menu tonight sister dear? Or are we to be surprised?" Knowing his sister she had everything from the wine to the dessert already planed out. Putting his glass to his lips he takes a slow sip of the wine, enjoying the flavor and coolness it brought to his parched throat. As he sat the glass down and looked over at Gavin he didn't know what to say, he didn't want to talk politics... That would just make things more awkward then they already where, but he couldn't just sit their in a silence ether. So with a deep breath he smiled and started to speak."Cousin, i dont think ive asked what you've been up to recently... Other then the obvious that is."

((Short i know but i cant think of anything else to add in x.X))

[Maria Etheridge]

Both agreed to wine, so Maria conceded to wine for herself as well. She took the three glasses that stood on the sideboard and poured the Merlot, twisting the bottle after each pour to ensure their was no spills. She reached for two of the glasses, half-musing to herself that she could just poison them both now and be done with their stupidity. However, she would obviously be implemented in that act and that wasn't exactly how she wanted her tale to go. So she decided to just place the two wine glasses before them. She lifted her own in a silent toast, before sipping at the wine. The delicious liquid flowed down her throat and warmed her stomach. Liquid steel. Some actors needed the strong stuff before a show. Maria never needed it. She was able to act on the air from the theater alone. She needed no courage. Just the stage.

"So, what' s on the menu tonight, sister dear? Or are we to be surprised?" She gave them a smile, shrugging her shoulder lightly. “I thought we should avoid the usual multi-course meal this evening. Just a sumptuous entree and delectable dessert.” She watched as Brendon then turned his focus to Gavin, trying to make polite conversation. It was interesting to see them try to play nice and failing. Gavin genuinely wanted them to get along. And sometimes, Maria wished it were that simple. But Brendon had always been jealous of Gavin and worse yet, they had always pushed away from her. She personally thought it was too late. Inwardly sighing while her polite smile remained, she placed her glass at her place at the table. Moving back to the sideboard she lifted the lid off of the platter. A delicious smell wafted out and tickled her nose. On the large platter were three plates, perfectly set. Each had a generous portion of lamb, cooked and drizzled with a lemon sauce. On the side rested some grilled asparagus, a little salt and pepper as the only seasoning. She picked up one plate at a time, moving it to the empty place on the table before each chair. On the right side of the table next to where the plates now rested was the silverware, all neatly arranged in a cloth napkin. Maria returned to the sideboard one more time, getting a small basket filled with freshly baked bread and a small plate of butter. She placed both on the middle of the table before taking her seat. “Please enjoy.”

[Csilla Angelis]

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