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Post by Princess Katie on Aug 9, 2008 20:06:30 GMT -5
Nellie made a sound of agreement as she bent to wipe the grass off of her skirt. “I’m tired of this. Anna, you be it.” She glared at Anna, the older cousin who had given away her whereabouts.
She grabbed Alexander’s wrist (because if she held his hand, it would surely solicit a few catcalls from her peers), tugging him out of the circle, away from the body of the party. Nellie glanced at Alex out of the corner of her eye. “So, juss fer th’ record, you cheated.”
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Post by Miss Jack on Aug 9, 2008 21:48:16 GMT -5
His eyes widened in angered disbelief and he stopped, pulling his wrist from Nellie's grasp to cross his arms haughtily over his chest. "Cheated?" He laughed harshly. "Oh no, I performed that torture fair and square."
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Post by Princess Katie on Aug 9, 2008 22:36:04 GMT -5
“Oh yeah?” Nellie asked, clearly doubtful. “I fink, if Anna hadn’t given me away, you would ‘ave been kissin’ Peep girls an’ guessin’ random flower names all day. Y’ used the sitchuashun t’ an unfair advantage. Which, is cheatin’, by my definition.” Nellie shrugged, “But wot do I know about games?”
She skipped up the hill and disappeared over the crest. Nellie rolled down the opposite side, coming to a graceful stop at the ferny shore of the Peep Farm’s creek
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Post by Miss Jack on Aug 9, 2008 22:58:22 GMT -5
"Hey," he pointed out. "It's hardly my fault if you fell for Anna's trick."
He followed after her, but didn't copy her graceful sommersault exit down the hill. He'd lost enough of his dignity for one day, thanks. He plopped beside her at the creek bed, laying back and tipping the hat over his eyes.
"Now what, Sheep Girl? Jump-roping with rainbows?"
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Post by Princess Katie on Aug 10, 2008 1:04:55 GMT -5
“No,” she said, decidedly, pulling off her slippers and socks, and dipping her toes in the water. “I’m tired of this ‘oliday. It were a lot more fun when I didn’t ‘ave t’ worry about anyfing, didn’t ‘ave t’ worry about me Father stranglin’ you t’ deaf.”
Nellie sent the minnows around her feet fleeing as she wiggled her toes, “And I’m ‘ungry.”
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Post by Miss Jack on Aug 10, 2008 1:23:50 GMT -5
He raised the brim of the hat with his finger, one brow arched. "Sorry I ruined it for you, Nellie," he said, actually sincere.
He sat up and copied her actions, stripping off his shoes. And the hat, and the waistcoat. "Me too," he admitted, sinking his feet into the mud. He reached down and casually splashed her. "D'you eat all those jellybeans already? Wow."
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Post by Princess Katie on Aug 10, 2008 2:10:29 GMT -5
“Oh, Alex, I didn’t mean it that way,” Nellie said, apologetically, “If you wasn’t ‘ere, I’d be so bored, I would.”She frowned at him. That sincerity caught her off guard, she wasn’t used to it. Especially not in the form of an apology. It sort of made her heart hurt.
She sent him a joking scowl as he removed the Dreamiest parts of his clothing. “Oh, too bad. Y’ were act’chally lookin’ presentable. There goes that.” She splashed him back with her foot as she leaned back against the willow tree.
“Oh! Yeah, I fergot!” She dug into her apron pockets and pulled out a handful of Jellybeans, and offered them to Alexander.
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Post by Miss Jack on Aug 10, 2008 2:31:20 GMT -5
He grinned knowingly. "I do spice things up, don't I?"
"I think that every time you put your hair up," he said in reply to his lack of presentable-ness. He leaned over and picked out another starry night from her hand, the only flavor he'd found so far that he could handle. "So would your dad really strangle me to death?"
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Post by Princess Katie on Aug 10, 2008 3:28:49 GMT -5
Nellie subconsciously brought a hand up to her bun and frowned. “It ain’t modest to wear yer hair down.” She picked through the jellybeans, and pondered his question.
“I…dunno. I fink ‘e’d like to, if ‘e knew ‘ow much time we spend together, or if ‘e saw the way you tackled me earlier. Or if ‘e knew I snuck over t’ yer house on occasion. I fink he might.” She paused, popping a glittery pink bean into her mouth. “But if ‘e knew you was the Prince, he probably wouldn’t. I don’t fink ‘ed want to risk getting’ in trouble wiff the law, but if you was just some Nightmare kid, probably.”
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Post by Miss Jack on Aug 10, 2008 3:37:11 GMT -5
"Hunh." He chewed thoughtfully. He swallowed and gave a decisive nod. "Yeah, your dad scares me." No getting around it.
Maybe this is what all of Genn's suitors felt like, too.
He shrugged, twirling a finger in the water, increasing the temperature. Modest, shmodest. But he didn't say anything. She could wear her hair how she liked.
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Post by Princess Katie on Aug 11, 2008 0:51:15 GMT -5
“Tch, yeah! My da’ scares me too! Why do you fink that I’m always so worried that I’m gonna get in trouble? I’d really ravver not get beat, y’know? I bruise easy, and them are ugly—Hey!” She pulled her feet out of the water, and scowled.
“What’d you do that fer? I was tryin’ to cool off!” She shook the water from her feet at him. As she did this, she just about lost her balance and toppled into the creek. The only thing that saved her (LIFE!) was the handful of ferns she had.
Nellie giggled from the shock, “Oh, jeez. That were a close one.”
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Post by Miss Jack on Aug 11, 2008 0:58:28 GMT -5
He eyed the ferns she had clutched in her dainty little hands, a devious look creeping into his face. He stood to his feet, casual as you please. "Real close," he said, and pushed her forehead, burning the roots of the ferns off so they came loose.
He laughed and waved down at her. "I can make it colder if you want," he said politely. He didn't have the power to drop the temperature of things, but he could remove any and all heat.
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Post by Princess Katie on Aug 11, 2008 1:54:48 GMT -5
Nellie’s blue eye grew to the size of dinner plates. “Alexander, no. Nonononoononoo please don—!”
She glowered up at him from the creek bed, her hair all loose, and her festival clothes all muddied. It was clear, painfully clear, that she was displeased. The muddy shepherdess brushed away loose hair with one hand, sniffling. She looked to be just about on the verge of tears.
However, with her free hand, she discreetly scooped up a handful of mud. With the same hand, she scooped up her dripping skirts, so, to the untrained eye, it seemed like she was truly empty handed. Blinking pathetically, she held out her free hand to Alexander.
“Could y’ be a gentleman fer once an’ ‘elp me up?”
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Post by Miss Jack on Aug 11, 2008 1:59:10 GMT -5
He made a 'pffft' noise with his lips. "Right. I'm not that dumb. However," he continued, walking to the creek bed, "I am about eighty times stronger than you, so you can't pull me in anyway."
He held out a hand, mostly because she was so darn cute in her sad, muddy state.
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Post by Princess Katie on Aug 11, 2008 2:18:18 GMT -5
Nellie looked possibly even more offended, “I would never try an’ pull you into the creek. Unloik some people, I was raised wiff manners.” She took his hand, and used him to pull herself up. She used the momentum of the pull to her advantage, swinging her left hand up, and slamming the handful of mud into his face, smearing it from his chin to his hair.
Wiser than she looked, Nellie didn’t stick around to face Alexander’s wrath. She leapt back into the creek, with a huge splash, running a few yards down its length. She stopped, with her hands on her hips, in her best impersonation of Alxander’s voice, which surprisingly, held only a hint of ner normally-heavy accent. “I am about eighty times stronger than you, so you can’t pull me in anyway.” She snorted, “Obviously,” she said, her accent back to normal, “I’m trickier.”
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