|
"You're right. I don't understand the rules, and I don't want to play." she whispered, her head still bowed. |
"It's too late for that now." He sighed and sat next to her. "He went easy on Claudian, you know. Far easier than he wanted to. He wasn't showing it, but I know him well enough. He might get on my case for this, but he... greatly cares for you, Xana. In such a way that Claudian could be seen as a rival." |
"Rival?" she thought, the concept seeming ridiculous to her. Two different arenas of life entirely. "Slade has been a wonderful and supportive mentor to me. He's... he's like an older brother to me. I didn't mean to hurt him. I would never want to do that." She paused. "Too late? Can't I simply refuse to play?" |
He gave her a wry smile. "Once again, you show how little you understand the game." He sighed and looked up to the sky. "Not quite as deeply, but it's something played often. In all honesty, if I chose to, I could invoke The Game at any time against Forrester. He wouldn't know what hit him. That is without the... involvement, that Slade has was consumed by. To do such a thing would be light. But even on that level, I have refused to do it. To decide 'not to play' and not learn the game would place you on the level of Forrester, if I were to invoke The Game. You see, Slade couldn't hold against Her, Xana. And because of that, She invoked The Game." He looked at her, gauging her carefully. "Xana, you must decide now. How comfortable are you in manipulating others?" |
"Not at all." she answered instantly in a soft voice. "I can't stand lies... deceit. I know that's... not very Slytherin of me. But it's true." "You said Slade couldn't hold against Her..." she bit her lip and decided not to ask. If he wanted to clarify... well, he would. |
He smiled softly. There was much of Slade in her, but much of himself as well it would seem. Perhaps that is why Slade was so fond of her. Crud... wasn't he supposed to be angry with her? She responded about Slade not holding against her, and the smile left his face as his mind returned to that night. "That is actually rather complex, Xana. I wish I could tell you more. Needless to say, he tried to keep you out of it. But after what had happened, he was too week to stand up against Her." |
She nodded, still looking down at the ground. "I don't want to know more. I... I'm not used to people trying to... to protect me. I've never had that before, really. I didn't really understand it. But I feel so terrible... knowing that he was doing so, protecting me-- and in payment for his kindness, I hurt him... and you." she choked back a sob. "I'm sorry." |
"At least... you're here..." Armand stood at last, starting toward the greenhouses. "Maybe if I had been, none of us would be in this mess." |
She bit her lip and closed her eyes, unsure of what to say to this, deciding that perhaps there was nothing to say. |
He paused a moment, glancing back. "I hear my poor plants calling me. Want to come and see what's up?" |
She looked up at him at last, gratitude evident in her red, teary eyes. She nodded once and tried to speak, swallowing hard to make her voice work. "More than you can possibly imagine." |
He nodded and made his way to the greenhouses. |
She followed him to the greenhouses in silence. |
Armand made his way into his gardens and knelt by the silvery plants in the center. His left hand was bandaged and rather obviously unusable. With his right he attempted to right the way the silver plants were, thankful they they had survived his little temper tantrum. His right hand had always been support, however, and he was finding the entire ordeal far more problematic than he originally expected. |
Cassandra came to Professor Erikson's garden. She didn't know why she was going there... maybe because it was usually empty, maybe because it was pretty... probably because she hoped he was there. He was. "Good Afternoon Professor Erikson," she said waiting to come in, in case he would have rather stayed there alone, without her. But she hoped, she hoped he'd call her in... she missed their talks. |
He sighed and sat back, hearing Cassandra's voice. "Afternoon, Cassandra." He gazed at the plants irritatedly. As though they were the ones being difficult. As if it wasn't his fault they were pulled up in the first place. "I don't normally ask for help, but could you come over here please? I seem to need an extra hand or two." |
Cassandra had to hold herself back from running to his aid. She walked into his gardens, calmly and knelt beside him. "What do you wish me to do?" she asked. She didn't care that she wasn't dressed to be in the soil, she just wanted to assist him. |
"I'll position the plants, if you could just re-bury them and make sure they're sturdy in the soil." He gave her a small smile, though his hair falling into his face seemed to cover half of it. He used his injured hand to very carefully try and brush it away, though it didn't do much good. He'd been fighting his hair since he stopped tying it up, and now that his hand was injured it was a losing battle. |
"Alright," she said looking at the plants. They really were quite exquisite. The ones that had blossoms, here colorful and fragrant. She turned to see him trying to move his hair out of his face. It was really rather a tender moment. He seemed to be rather frustrated with such a simple task. She put her hand in her pocket and withdrew a band of green cloth she sometimes wore during exams. It wasn't pretty, but it did it's job. She offered it to him. "Might Help... you know... for now." she said giving him a casual smile. |
He just imagined himself in it and laughed. His vanity had him making sure his hair was absolutely perfect at all times. With the headband his hair would be held at rather odd angles. Especially compared to what it was used to. He took it and eyed it a moment, the imagine still in his mind. "You know, I save my daughter from an evil locket, and what I'm left with is constant challenges to my pride and my vanity," he said as he put it on. He managed to arrange it so that it it didn't look quite as ridiculous as he had imagined it would, though it meant for that one stray lock to fall in his face again. But he could deal with that lock. He was used to that lock. |
Cassandra smiled at him as he placed the headband on his head. She smiled because she dared not laugh. Not because he would be angry, or find her impertenent... there was something so... tender about him right now, she couldn't ruin that. She was going to draw her wand to aid in her digging the soil, but she remembered her very first class with him. He insisted on the hands feeling the soil... She cared not for her well manicured little hands, as she began moving the cold damp soil with them. This was probably the best time she had had in the history of her time at Hogwarts with Herbology. Maybe it was the fact that she knew the techniques better, or maybe she was more practice. She turned to Erikson. Nope... it was something else entirely. She smiled and went back to moving the soil around. |
Armand smiled and decided to just enjoy working with Cassandra. With the happenings of last term, he hadn't nearly gotten the chance to talk with her that he'd once had. Though he still felt a little like an invalid, he could deal with it for something like this. It was as they were planting the second one that he noticed she was also left-handed. Who woulda thought? |
Cassandra smiled up her professor. He seemed to be struggling still with that hand. "Here, let me." She said reaching over and taking the plant from his hands. "Just point to where you'd like it," She sat back on her feet. "I'd be honored if I could be your hands today." |
He chuckled. "Are you sure, Cassandra?" Regardless, he went into detail explaining how to space the silvery plants just right, moving around the circular bed and pointing out where the little plants had been uprooted from. |
She nodded and followed his orders to the letter, being delicate and gentle with the plants. After all, this was his personal garden, really, how many students were allowed to enter them, let along plant in them. "They are beautiful Professor, what are they?" She hoped this wasn't a question she needed to already should know the answer to. |
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