Turning A New Leaf [Charlotte]

[Guinevere Cassidy]

It was never fun, having to pack up and move again. 

Guin knew her husband was getting closer. Though she had not yet seen hide nor hair of him, there were traces of him all around. There were eyes that stayed too long, ears that listened too close. But hints were not enough to cause her to run. Hints may not have been, but... After the vampire attack in New Orleans, though, Guin knew Joseph was getting too close.

She wasn't going back; she couldn't. Guinevere would rather have died than return to the man she had pledged her life to. That would have been the bravest -- or most cowardly, depending on how one looked at it -- move she had ever been forced to make. But no matter how anyone saw it, Guin would do what she had to do to keep her freedom. She already had a plan, after all; it was a plan she had been forced to think up the first time Joseph had put his hands on her.

But she hoped that was a decision she would never have to make. That was why she had moved to New York, in the hopes her name and face would get lost in the crowd. Perhaps New Orleans had just been too small. New York was the largest city in the country; if New Orleans had been too small, the surely New York would be big enough to hide her. How New Orleans had not quite been enough to hide her scent, she wasn't sure, but that wasn't the point for here or now.

After struggling for a few days in New York, Guin had gotten job at an independent bookstore as a cook and a barista. Though it wasn't very fancy, as all she could make was soup, salad and sandwiches, but it was a job in a half-kitchen. And she had a (somewhat) reasonable raise. It was enough to keep a crappy apartment just across the street; it was even enough to adopt a cat, so that she might have some sort of comfort and company.

It was more than enough for her.

But that day, the shop had been surprisingly quiet. They had only entertained a handful of guests, a family and two lovers. But once they had come and gone, Guinevere spent the next few hours reorganizing and redoing the entire menu. Soups were changed, sandwiches mixed about... She even fixed a few of the salads, as strawberries were getting too out of season for this time of year. In fat, Guinevere was so busy that she didn't even hear the doorbell ring as another guest walked in.

WORDS ;; 444
THOUGHTS ;; Aw yeah. Gots me a job. Now to keep my head down.
OUTFIT ;; [ CLICK! ]
TAG ;; Lady Charlotte
CREDIT ;; pretty funny in dogfight

[Lady Charlotte]

WORD COUNT [ 366 ] MOOD [ cheerful if tired ] OUTFIT [ click! ] MUSIC [ Skyrim soundtrack ] TAG [ Guinevere Cassidy ] NOTES [ notes here if any ]

Charlotte had not much missed New York. Truth be told, she didn't really like any urban environment; the hustle and bustle was so jarring compared to the relative slowness of her youth, and the nights were so loud, she had never quite grown used to it. But still, if she had to choose, she preferred Paris to this. In Paris, at least, they spoke her native tongue, and it still sort of felt like home. New York didn't feel like home at all. The noise, the smells, the people... it was all wrong. But duties were duties, and she did have quite a few of them to fulfill. A few of the council members were meeting in New York that week, to discuss a problem with the Shifters as well as to handle the aftermath of Aleena's kidnapping – poor Rafael was shaken to the core, though he wouldn't admit it, and Aleena was ever the reflection of her vampire – and since Charlotte was the head of the council, it was her job to make everything ran smoothly. Charlotte had given Aleena one of her handheld games as well as the actual handheld it operated on so that she could get her mind off of things before she finally had to tear herself away from the poor girl, and now she was out and about again, and hungry as ever. Walking down the sidewalk, her heels click click clicking with every step she took and her dress billowing about her legs, Charlotte didn't stop until the bookstore caught her eye. The blonde had never been there before, and she didn't like to leave a bookstore unvisited. She had always loved to read; the only thing that had ever overshadowed her interest in books was her interest in video games. Since the place looked like it served a few small food items, on top of selling books, her resolve finally crumbled, and she walked right on in to the store. The poor girl behind the register seemed busy, so Charlotte didn't bother her. She just stood in front of the counter, hands and purse held in front of her, looking as cheerful and bubbly as ever. post template by Tony

[Guinevere Cassidy]

Guinevere didn't even realize the new guest had entered until the menu was finalized and put away. She didn't hear the doorbell ring or even notice the movement in the corner of her eyes. It wasn't until she finally looked up that she noticed her -- and almost jumped straight into the air.

Luckily, the woman managed to catch herself. Instead of jumping, Guin focused on putting her energy into smiling, albeit a bit nervously. She recognized the woman in front of her; Lady Charlotte, leader of the Vampire Council and the essential head of New York and Paris. Not only was she a vampire, as stated before, but also a noblewoman, as if Guinevere needed yet another reason to try to keep her wits about her.

"S-sorry," she stuttered, her eyes falling to the counter, "I didn't hear you come in. Is there anything in particular you were looking for? Can I make you anything while you look around?"

Just chill, Guin tried to tell herself. The vampires on the Council didn't just run around and look for people to kill. They were civil, or about as civil as vampires could get. The ruled New York more or less fairly. And Lady Charlotte had the best reputation out of all of them. She wouldn't just rip Guin's throat out over something as small as not noticing her at first. At least, Guin hoped she wouldn't. 

The woman gave Charlotte a little smile before glancing back down at the counter. Nervously, Guin began to shift things around in front of her, trying to straighten up her station. After Louisiana and dealing with those vampires, Guin had grown to become quite nervous around all vampires. It didn't matter if they were friendly or not; if they drank blood, they made Guin retreat into herself. Even the "helper" she had back in New Orleans, Everett or whatever his name was, still made Guin nervous.

It made her stomach roll, to think of how he had trivialized her abuse.

"We have great coffee."

God, she sounded like a fucking idiot.

WORDS ;; 352
THOUGHTS ;; Fuck no. Fuck, I fucked up. Fuck...
OUTFIT ;; [ CLICK! ]
TAG ;; Lady Charlotte
CREDIT ;; pretty funny in dogfight