status: open for everyone location: anywhere
"I assure you, I am not back in London by my own free will." Serra pouted, clearly annoyed that she couldn't have stayed in Paris. She'd liked it there, even going so far as attending that fashion design course recommended to her by Leta. Her parents had wanted her to return to England in January after the whole embarrassment that was Alara running away and being blown off the family tree. The compromise that had been reached meant that as soon as her course was completed she'd return. They were adamant about being back before her birthday, while she had no idea why that was so important. "It is all Alara's fault. Obviously. Couldn't help but turn out a traitor."
"I know what I want and what I am worth. I do not see it as boldness if it is factually accurate, which I believe it to be." Serra informed him with a matter of fact tone, keeping eye contact with him and not shying away from it. "It is something I would promise because I know I am capable of being everything." Growing up with a silver spoon and being told that she was perfect day in and day out left its mark on her. "You do not scare me, if I make demands I suppose you making some would be fair as well. As long as there is no one else." Serra did not know what she was talking about, acting like she had more experience than she actually did. She'd been with all but two guys before.
Kissing him back she was infatuated, it made her feel important and powerful knowing that he wanted her. "I have not asked you to apologise. Your experience is something that is far preferable to someone my age that is inexperienced. I do know that I am beautiful."
"You should know that I will not be waiting around forever. If you choose to go for someone else and satisfy your curiosity elsewhere I will make my choice as well. I am in my prime and you are not my only option." She was not willing to wait around like a fool waiting for him to choose her. "You either choose me or you don't. But you don't get to come back if you don't choose me in the first place. I am no second choice nor am I a consolation prize."
He brushed his hand against her cheek. “You are even more bold than I thought. Are you saying you will be all they are and more is that something you would promise? It’s a lot for one so young and inexperienced.” He held her face so she couldn’t look away. “You have been bold so I will too. I am a crass thing with certain appetites, I didn’t want to subject you to anything you might not be ready for make demands of you that were too physical. A kiss, an embrace are pleasant but I’m talking about more than that, not eventually now. It isn’t much time and it is an unfair demand, but I feel an equal one to severing ties that I have developed, turning all focus to you. It’s only fair I tell you what I would that focus would entail unless you discover yourself repulsed by my desires. We are both people of certain tastes, and I feel once I have tasted you I will want more..” He kissed her, the reason might be colored by her response, but for now he used the gesture to speak to his point. It was a thing of lust rather than love, something to entice as well as sample. “One may only be around pretty things for so long without sampling or spoiling them, and though I pride myself on many things, chastity is not one of them, but I don’t apologize for that. From the beginning I have told you that I am dark and cruel, but you are smart enough to know that you are physically desirable. Attractive as well as beautiful.” Her rubbed his thumb across her lips, more a gesture of desire than intimacy. “” “I won’t make you promises I have no intent to keep, but if I can’t have you now, fully and without reservation, or a way to expel desires that would make me present an indecorous image. I will come to you when I’m more available, ready to endure the triteness of a chaste courtship assuming we are both still interested and available of course. Maybe by then you will know the duality required to maintain a perfect appearance.”
"Wonderfully. With lots of champagne." She sighed wistfully, already missing the beautiful city she got to call home for a few short months. It had more charm and elegance than London did. It felt more refined.
"I ran into him on the street as I was going to visit my father at the shop. He said something about me looking much better here than I would in Paris, so I said I would look good everywhere. Because that is a fact." The last bit was said as an afterthought. "He's been begging for forgiveness for years. With all the jewellery and dresses he's been buying me. I have yet to see him on his knees though."
"How did Paris treat you? Too many hours spent at the Avenue des Champs-Elysées" Willa asked intrigued, quietly thanking the waitress as two teapots were sat in front of the pair. Serra understood Willa's love for the finer things in life, and while most would expect their attitudes to clash, in fact it made quite the harmonious balance.
Pouring tea for herself and Serra, Willa's eyebrow quirked in response the the mention of Malcolm Parkinson. Back at Hogwarts, Willa recalled first talking to Serra after the commotion between Serra and Malcolm, and of course, Charity Burbage. She was slightly older, but that didn't stop word from spreading. "What happened?" Setting the teapot back down, she looked back at her friend. "I sure hope that he begged for forgiveness."
Hearing Antonin's voice directed at her she couldn't help but smile, clearly pleased. He was a very handsome wizard so she always enjoyed looking at him and especially hearing his words when he complimented her so. "I do have to admit that desperation does not attract me. I do find that bringing a date tonight has helped to ward off the desperate ones. I saw you've arrived with Miss Skeeter? I'm a big fan of hers." She considered gossip articles to be the height of journalism.
Who: @serraborgin Where: Malfoy x Black Wedding
Mingling at this wedding was as much for connections as fun and gossip and the young woman he had found seemed like she would be all three. "Miss Borgin, I'm surprised to find you alone with so many elidable and desperate bachelors about I thought you would be besieged by offers of drinks and dancing, or perhaps I've just been lucky enough to find you during a lull?"
"Next time you have to come with me. We can stay at my house, go shopping together, eat french pastries..." It would be a fun thing to do, to show Willa around the town she had enjoyed so much.
"I don't know. Maybe? My parents certainly think it is time. They wanted to invite him to my birthday party, can you believe that?" She scoffed, shaking her head. He had broken her heart, all those years ago. "He did look quite handsome. And I do enjoy the presents..but he embarrassed me terribly back at Hogwarts."
Willa sighed, a slight hint of jealousy as Serra described her experiences in Paris. It was notable to many that while Willa had free reign to avail of the Bulstrode last name, their funds weren't quite as easily accessed. Despite how much Willa would have longed to visit her friend in Paris, it wasn't quite in sight.
At Serra's depiction of her run in with Malcolm, she took a sip of her tea, eyebrows raised ever so slightly. "Are you thinking of forgiving him?" Willa asked, slightly intrigued for Serra's response. "If I were you, I would wait to see him on his knees."
"I do hope your wife is enjoying it as well." While she had messed with witches older than her before, but only those who she deemed inferior to her, someone of equal or higher standing she left alone. Serra was no fool and knew when she went against someone that had the potential to best her. "Oh actually I do love hosting events. Especially when they are in my honor." She thrived off of attention. "But I do plan on going to celebrate with my friends later. Away from the parents." She chuckled. "Paris was lovely. It is a gorgeous city."
"I'm very pleased to be here," he replied with equal good manners. Thirty minutes ago, that statement would have been a lie. But he had now settled into his night of absent relaxation, and was indeed enjoying doing nothing practical. It made a welcome change. "Your parents are family friends. Of course, we were happy to accept their invitation." Studying her for a beat, he smiled slyly. "However, between us, hostess circulating can become rather mind-numbing, can't it? I hope you have something more privately enjoyable planned, as well. How was your time in Paris?"
It was a scary thought for her, terrified her even, to consider breaking down the walls she had erected because of him. Giving the one person she had let hurt her in such a significant way the possibility to do so again. Still, it was easier to stay away from him when she didn't have to physically be in his presence. She could lie to herself and say she was not affected by him in the least. He was a man now, one that had gotten even more handsome with age. It was both a good thing and a bad thing that she still thought him to be extremely handsome, she was yet to decide which side she was leaning towards. "Well you better not give up. I do not plan on making anything easy for you." Serra informed him with a matter of fact tone. He liked the chase, she knew that. If she gave her heart fully now and he broke it again, she would be humiliated. "Do continue speaking about how beautiful I am, I will never tire of it." Serra was clearly pleased that he thought her beauty distracting, as was evident from her smile. Or at least she was trying to smile but something felt off. When he came closer to her she noticed that she started to feel quite dizzy all of a sudden, her skin tingling even where he didn't touch her. "I- I feel dizzy..." She wanted to say more but everything went black as she fainted right into his arms.
There were not enough words to describe how he felt around Serra in that moment. It felt like they were traveling back in time without moving at all. Malcolm had worked up years of how he would do things differently and not rely on his spontaneous and immature responses to their previous relationship. He had been nothing but a scared boy who thought he was bigger than the world. How naive he was to not see that Serra was the only one who mattered, who castrated the noises around them. That last year at school had bent him into a hellhound who only wanted to look after himself without weighing others' emotions. Now, he wasn't a boy, but a man with a tenured experience in giving Serra what she wants with lavish gifts from all over the world. They had a wedding to plan, and where he thought she would meet him with contempt, it felt like their story was given another chance; the greatest gift she could give back. "I will," Malcolm smiled. "And I doubt I will ever stop vying for your affections. You might get tired of me. I can only speak of my excitement for our futures and how your beauty is quite distracting. The other plans to prove my loyalty might have to wait when we leave, as I don't think it's appropriate here." Malcolm took a step closer, his hand meeting her hair that asked to be pushed behind her ear. As he was leaning down for a kiss, he paused only an inch away from her lips when he noticed something was wrong. "My love, are you alright?" Malcolm knew she arrived with the perfect shade of lipstick, but now they were nearly pale.
location: malfoy wedding status: for @alaraselwyn
"I guess congratulations are in order. For you that is. I'll be sure to personally give Evan my condolences for being stuck with you." Her smile was saccharine as she looked over at her cousin, her eyes blatently trying to figure out how many carats the engagement ring on Alara's finger had.
"Hey! Like everything about me, my vision is perfect. I do not have a single physical flaw."
Serra's parents always told her so from the moment she was born, so that stuck with her. They didn't want her to run the shop, which was a good thing because she didn't want to run it either. It was better off left to the employees, they could get their hands dirty. Working was not for her. Even the idea of it seemed exhausting. She liked having her free time to do whatever she pleased. Like shopping and relaxing.
Regulus had truthfully never been a fan of events like this, especially weddings. He had never seen much of a point at all in them and he wasn't disillusioned to the fact that they were only an excuse to make people pay attention to you. He was also just becoming so tired of the extravagance. He felt like weddings were the only things his family talked about now. Bellas, Narcissa', his, it was just so exhausting. He'll just be glad when its all finally over and done with. He's stealthy in the way he grabs a glass of wine off a waiters tray, not that it would have been an issue, but, its one less person to talk to if he wasn't seen, all to turn and see Serra of all people ready to greet him. Really though, Serra wasn't bad company, at least compared to most of the people on the guest list she wasn't "Hey," He greeted with a smile. "Well, I've not been hiding, maybe you need your eyes checked." He teased lightly.
status: for @willabulstrode location: Rosa Lee's teabags
Standing up from her seat in Rosa Lee's she waved to Willa, motioning her friend over. It was the middle of the day and there were more people around than she had thought, so she wanted to make sure Willa saw her through the crowds. "It 's been too long. I told you, you should've come to Paris to visit.."
"I am very beautiful, that's true, but you should not sell yourself short. Of course I am the better looking one out of the two of us as I am a woman and naturally more beautiful but you are handsome as well. I would not show interest in you if I found you undeserving of my attention." Serra was very particular with who she paid attention to and who she didn't. She liked to pick and choose who she believed was worthy of her time. "Why not?" What reason would he be giving her, she wondered.
"I would never settle. If I choose the person I want to be with it is because I decide that is who I want. I deserve to have the best of the best, one that will shower me in gifts and in compliments. Just me. Not anyone else." Her voice turned sugary sweet as she focused her attention back on him. "If you want to continue seeing me, you will not be seeing other women. The choice is yours. If you are unsure and are interested in others, then your answer is made and this is where we say goodbye. I deserve undivided attention and focus. I am the best, but I will not compete with other women for your affection. While I do not want to get betrothed or married yet, I know my worth."
“Hmm.” He moved a hand to stroke her cheek. “You are beautiful, effortless, beyond reproach, but I am, not. I feel undeserving when I’m around you, you say you’re inexperienced, and I enjoy experiencing you, but I feel that as I am I can’t give you what you deserve even if I would like to.” He stopped as if struggling with the words or how they might land. “I worry that you will be done with me as you grow, become the perfect thing that I know you are, and regret settling. You shouldn’t be forced to settle, and I’m not in a position to be as serious with you as I would like to.” He looked at her, deciding he should be as straightforward as she had been. “I’m seeing other women. I’m worried you might have heard something or gossip, or will and this is something you should hear from me. I feel like it’s something I need to do before I get serious about anyone. At least to the level everyone is rushing into betrothals and bringing other people into them.” He moved closer looking into her eyes and squeezing her shoulders. “Breaking a betrothal or getting into a marriage that was a failure is not something I will do. I couldn’t leave someone I cared about that much or betray them after making that kind of promise.”