Tale As Old As Time

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A large forest in Central Anaxas, the once-thriving mostly human town of Dorhaven is recovering from a bombing in 2719 at its edge.

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Elisora Rivaen
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Fri Feb 15, 2019 6:33 am

40th of Ophus, 2718
It wouldn’t take much longer until they reached Vienda. Elise swore she spot the city beneath the fluffy clouds as their airship continued to soar in the sky. Honestly, she couldn’t wait for the ride to be offer. The young healer was never fond of this means of transport. The slightest shudder of the thing would send her seeking to grip Daalton’s hand. It was embarrassing, but she couldn’t stop herself from imagining the whole contraption plummeting into the ground.

Daalton had been standing in the main deck with a drink in hand last she had seen him, before she excused herself to find the bathroom. A dark silhouette against the rays of sunset as she turned back to make sure he didn’t really pay attention to where she was going. Elise wasn’t really heading for the loo. No, she headed straight back to find her suitcase and the item she had hidden there.

A small, simply wrapped box that held a mechanical watch. It wasn’t the most extravagant looking – sleek and elegant instead. Not unlike the man she was giving it to. The black and silver gears that constantly turned were partially visible under the hands. The band itself was made of fine leather, dark and soft. She had thought that it was one of the most exquisite things she had ever seen, but a small seed of doubt was starting to bother her.

Deciding on a birthday present for Daalton had always been tricky. He was not the sentimental sort and she always had a difficult time figuring out what sort of things he would like. It took her nearly a week of window-shopping before finally deciding to enter a clockmaker’s workshop. It took her another hour or two to see each and every one of his creations before deciding that none quite fit what she wanted. At least until the clockmaker offered to create a personalized watch for her. She was supposed to pick it up on Daalton’s birthday, but after the proposal they barely left each other’s side for that day. When she returned to pick it up, the clockmaker had offered to engrave words on the back side. If he had asked it days before, she probably wouldn’t put anything there. But right then… She knew exactly what it would be:

To us. Love, E.R.

As she held the small box in her hand, Elise found herself to be nervous. There was no way of knowing if he would like it. It was certainly not the most brilliant of birthday presents. Perhaps the engraving was a bit too much? What if he thought that it was cheesy? By Alioe, they were about to get married, she probably shouldn’t be overthinking something as simple as a birthday present.

Shaking away all of them, Elise headed back to the main deck. Fortunately, the man hadn’t moved far and his back was still turned to her. She approached him slowly, trying to be as silent as she could be. Even though the clock was nowhere near midnight, the young woman wrapped an arm around her lover from behind and stood on the tip of her toes to place a brief kiss on his cheek. “Happy Clock’s Eve,” she whispered softly as she handed him the presents. “I was supposed to give them on your birthday, but… you distracted me with your proposal. Sorry.”

With a smile, she moved to stand in front of him, her dress fluttering across the floor. Daalton looked striking tonight – as he always did she supposed. “I hope you’ve figured out what to say to my parents, because you will be doing all of the explaining.”

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Daalton Gilardioni
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: Better Than You
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Tue Feb 19, 2019 9:43 pm

Date Stamp

Daalton stood looking out over the skies, staring off into space. It was unlike him to daydream about anything, yet he found himself imagining what Elisora's parents would say when he told them. He imagined they would be delighted, likely falling over themselves to be involved in the proceedings. They had always liked him, even when many had warned them of the young man's... peculiarities. Certainly, Elise had shared with them what the two of them had experienced together.

With his overcoat on, and a gin and water in his hand, Daalton stared and wondered. Elisora's excuse to find the restroom aside, not much had been said the whole ride. Elise's fear of the airship and Daalton's brooding mood had made for a quiet ride, which he did not mind. He absently lifted the glass to his lips and took a sip, snapping back into focus as he felt Elise enter behind him. He turned with a smile, a genuine one, when he saw her.

"You need not fear, darling. I have been thinking about this moment since I decided to ask you to be my wife."

Daalton reached a hand out and took Elise's, as much to steady her as to drive home his point. He looked back out over the clouds, surveying the skies and the ground below them. He sighed contentedly, hoping to reassure her and relax her with it.

"Look at what we have accomplished; the society we have built. Thousands of years of traditions and advancements in every conceivable field. We are flying over brick and mortar that we conceived. The gods themselves must feel like this."

Daalton's voice was strong but quiet, barely breaking the noise the airship was making. He set his glass down on a table that was welded into the side of the ship, and pulled open the door to the ice chest that was inside. Pulling from it a bottle of vinted Viendan white wine, he took a small crystal glass and poured some for Elisora. He offered her the glass with a smile, once again reaching out to put his hand on her. Reassurance.

"Thank you for the gift, my love. I will open it when we reach the ground. It would not do for the airship to experience turbulence and me damage whatever it is you have gotten me," he explained, though his eyes spoke a different story. The gift was thoughtful, something that Daalton was not used to, and he was unsure how to receive it. He had hoped the excitement of landing and meeting her parents would calm him enough to be appreciative.

"You have no idea how happy you have made me, these last few seasons. I was going nowhere, and when you showed up in my classroom, something in me recognized the importance of winning you back. Our history is just that, and going forward, I will do everything I can to make you happy," he said, smiling again. He took another sip of his drink. "Starting with this first step. We are going to be very happy together,"/color] he confirmed, nodding.

The airship would soon make it descent, and he held onto Elise as it began. It was always jarring going down, and Daalton did not want her to stress as they did so. Holding her closely from behind, he raised his glass to his lips, sipping. A wave of juniper rolled over Elise's sense and Daalton kissed the back of her head.

"Are you ready to tell your parents?" he purred in her ear.
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Elisora Rivaen
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Sat Feb 23, 2019 2:39 am

40th of Ophus, 2718
She shrugged off her slight twinge of disappointment when he didn’t open the gift right away and accepted the glass. The young woman downed the wine in one swig, hoping that it would dull the buzzing anxiety in her veins. After pouring herself some more of the alcohol, Elise returned to his side. “We still have a long way to go to be anything like gods.” As a healer, she knew that perhaps better than most. There were still so many diseases they could not cure, so many things they could not figure out.

“Starting with this first step. We are going to be very happy together.”

Elise leaned into Daalton as the airship shuddered during its descent, her pale fingers wrapping around his arm as her body tensed. She breathed deeply, taking in his scent to calm herself down. It felt odd, how his presence could ease her in a way no one else could. Looking up, she watched his face closely. He was different than the boy she knew back in school. His blue eyes weren’t as cold and his smiles felt true. “You promise?”

When he asked about her parents, her heart began pounding again. Elise laughed nervously, the light sound quickly swallowed up by the airship. “As ready as I’ll ever be. I am a bit worried about how big of a deal they were going to make this. Especially my mother.” Her gaze wandered to the windows, taking in how fast the ground was approaching them. It was the wrong thing to do – Elise felt more blood drain away from her face. “I think she’s been dreaming of my wedding more than I do.”

She could see it. The moment they told her, Aldona Rivaen would start contacting organizers, caterers, dressmakers. It would a whirlwind of planning and she had no problem of letting her mother take the reins for the most part. Yet, like a million girls before her, Elise had dreamed about her own wedding. It was difficult not to when she and Daalton had made so many promises together. Dreams she had tossed away when things ended between them. But here she was again, wrapped in his arms.

“I want it to be outdoors, our wedding,” she said suddenly, eager to distract herself from her creative imagination about all the ways that the airship might take a plunge into the hard earth. Fortunately, it was not difficult to start rambling about the things that had crossed her mind ever since she said yes to Daalton’s proposal. “A beach, a park, a forest, wherever. Maybe somewhere we have never been before. But what about after? We don’t have a place to live. Should we start looking for houses?”

She stopped herself and laughed again as she saw the ground closing in. She could already see the small dots that were people waiting for their arrival, among them were probably her parents. “I’m getting ahead of myself, aren’t I?”
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Daalton Gilardioni
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: Better Than You
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Fri Mar 01, 2019 2:11 pm

40th of Ophus 2718

He just smiled. He smiled as she went on about her mother, and about how she wanted their wedding. He knew that Aldona was likely to step into the organization role, but he had a plan to help Elise get the exact wedding she wanted. Daalton knew that her parents, like all galdori parents, were strict and controlling, but he wanted this to be his and Elise's wedding. She had to be happy with it, she had to. And that was the bottom line. Though he would attempt no disrespect, at the end of the day, it was their wedding.

"Outside sounds lovely. Sometime in the autumn? When it isn't too rainy or too cold, perhaps. We could get married on the lush banks of the Turga in Mugroba, or the mountains of Hesse. Wherever you want; and our honeymoon, we can go somewhere swanky and posh, like Gior. We can travel and see the world, and perhaps our first child could be conceived in one of those exotic, lovely places."

He paused and shot her a glance out of the corner of his eye, a small smile playing on his lips. He hadn't mentioned wanting children before, but he knew that he and Elise would have and love a child as much as any child could be loved.

"But we have some time, so we should focus on the first task at hand: telling your parents. I think we should dress up nicely and go have a cocktail and some finger foods, and tell them then. We can deal with details and honeymoon plans, children and housing after we tell them. Who knows, maybe I already have something planned for that last one."

He smiled slyly again as the airship set down shakily on the ground. He held Elise close to protect her from the jarring, and as the door to the ship opened, Daalton planted a bright smile on his face. He led Elise down the ramp, a strong hand holding her and keeping her steady, and immediately spotted her parents. Her mother was smiling, and perhaps she had tears in her eyes... From this distance, Daalton couldn't tell. He steered Elise towards them, murmuring in her ear.

"Remember, no matter what happens, that I love you. If things get too overwhelming, just give me the signal and I will find us a way to have a moment or two alone together. To recalibrate."

And then, they were in front of Elise's parents. Daalton removed his hand from Elise's lower back and reached out to shake her father's hand, smiling and nodding. He kissed her mother on the cheek.

"Mr. and Mrs. Rivaen," he said, jovial but in his own way. His eyes were shining as he saw them, and his smile was so wide that his cheeks were starting to hurt. "It is so nice to see you again, after all this time."

It truly was. He had always admired Elise's parents, and he was quite fond of the woman they had produced and raised. She was something truly remarkable, and she was perfect for him. Just perfect.
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Elisora Rivaen
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Sun Mar 03, 2019 7:44 am

40th of Ophus, 2718
“… perhaps our first child could be conceived in one of those exotic, lovely places.”

The young woman blinked and then looked up to her betrothed as blood rushed to her cheeks. Before she could truly meet his glance, Elise was already looking away to avoid letting him notice how flustered she was. Children… Of course. They were getting married, building a family – of course it would include children. She felt foolish for not thinking about it sooner. She had been so preoccupied with thoughts of the wedding and their honeymoon that she had completely forgotten about anything regarding conceiving a child. Even more surprising was that Daalton was the one to bring it up. He had been so absorbed into this thing he was studying with that professor from Mugroba, that she hadn’t imagined him thinking much about anything else.

Fortunately, Daalton continued to talk without waiting for her response. Elise took the chance to compose herself and gather her thoughts. It was another thing to add to the list of matters for them to discuss. There was no rush, of course, they had only been engaged for three days and they had time to sit down and talk.

She nodded at his idea. “That shouldn’t be too hard, there’s no doubt in my mind that my parents would insist upon taking us out for dinner of some sort.” The airship shuddered as she tightened her grip on him. It wouldn’t take too long until they finally landed, so she made herself focus back on Daalton and grin. “Should I be worried about how much you have planned for all this without telling me?” she teased.

As they boarded off, the young woman took a deep breath. Daalton’s words were gentle, reassuring, and she nodded in acknowledgement. While he said it so casually, Elise still couldn’t stop her heart from pounding when he said he loved her. She opened her mouth to respond, but they already reached her parents.

Matteo and Aldona Rivaen were dressed impeccably as always. Despite their age, the pair of politicians made it a point to look sleek, yet severe at the same time. Her mother’s graying hair was pulled back into a tight bun, not a single strand out of place. Her father’s dark suit was freshly pressed and his tie knotted to perfection. They paid a lot of attention onto how they are perceived and would do anything to keep the image of a perfect family.

Hence, all the secrets buried deep inside. Like her brothers.

“Mother, Father, you shouldn’t have come all the way here. I can my own way back home, you know,” Elise said in greeting, stepping forward to embrace each of her parents. Despite all the problems in their household, it would be lying if she said that she didn’t feel a bit better in their arms. She missed them, perhaps more than she imagined.

Matteo turned to the young man and shook his hand firmly. “Absolutely wonderful to see you, Daalton. We have been wondering about how you have been doing,” he said with ease, even though he eyed him with slightest bit of apprehension. “We’ve heard you are a professor in Brunnhold. I expected no less from a brilliant young man that you are.”

“Don’t you two look good together? It’s a relief to see that our girl had finally come back to her senses,” Aldona said cheerfully, clapping her hands together before decidedly patting Daalton’s shoulder.

Elise’s smile faltered for the briefest of a second. She had never truly told her parents about what had driven her to end her relationship with Daalton all those years ago. She couldn’t. All she told them was that she didn’t like how he treated her and that was it. At that time she figured there was no need to go into the details and relive them. Aldona had not taken the news well, pointing out constantly about how, as far as she could see, Daalton had always treated her very well. It was only until Matteo scolded his wife that she stopped bringing it up.

Her father was also the one who comforted her that night, reminding her that she knew what was best for herself and her relationship, not her mother.

“It’s getting late,” Elise pointed out as her baggage was carried and place behind her by a few human male, workers for the airship. “We should go out, grab a drink and some food. It is Clock’s Eve, after all.” Without thinking, her hand sought for Daalton and laced their fingers together. Her parents certainly did not miss the gesture. “We have so much to tell you.”
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Daalton Gilardioni
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: Better Than You
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Fri Apr 26, 2019 12:05 pm

40th of Ophus 2718

Daalton smiled at them both, allowing everyone their greetings. He knew that Elisora had probably not painted him in a good light when they last parted, but he also knew how much Elise's parents had approved of him, and how likely they were to have ignored the final days of their last relationship. However, it seemed as if Elisora hadn't told them of their parting, not in any detail, which surprised and delighted Daalton. He knew how close Elisora was with her parents, and to withhold the grisly details of their former tryst only showed Daalton that perhaps Elise had not given up on the feelings they had. When her hand sought his, he answered with a firm and warm hold.

"Ah yes, only a junior professor for now. Though I one day hope to make my tenure something more solid... Elisora has been making great strides in the medical field, and there is no better place than Vienda for that. So I suppose it depends."

He smiled and followed them to their wagon, gripping Elisora tightly in a show of support. As they got into the carriage, Daalton sighed some relief.

"Food does sound wonderful. The flight over was jarring, and I was not sure eating before hand would have been a good idea. So I am happy to eat something now," he explained, steering the conversation toward Elisora's suggestion. Daalton knew how important her parents were to her... And he needed everything to go perfectly.

"Mr. Rivaen, have you ever tried any of that Mugrobi onnastick? Apparently, in Thul Ka, there is an onnastick cart on every corner of the street, and they serve the most wondrous foods, all handheld on a stick. I have been dying to go and try some, though I hear there are a few transplant carts here in Anaxas as well. Perhaps there is one or two in Vienda?"

Ah, Mugroba. It was the perfect segue, but for the first time in his life, Daalton found himself unsure if he wanted to proceed. Perhaps it was too early to bring up the doctor in Mugroba, or perhaps he should wait until he and Elisora were married. In either case, he wanted to get a few cocktails in him before he went into it. He let it sit at that, his desire for delicious cooked food on a stick seeming to be his only motivation for the starter.

"Let us talk about the two of you, however. How has everything been? Elise and I have not spent much time discussing our families since reconnecting, and it would be nice to hear it from the source."

Daalton's eyes glinted, and he pulled Elisora closer to him so that she may rest her head on his shoulder. Everything was proceeding nicely. As long as he could hold his tongue, the evening was sure to be a success. He could only imagine their reaction to learning of their engagement, and it was almost as if they already knew, they were being so coy. Still, Daalton would not steal Elisora's glee at telling them, nor would he steal the joy of their reactions. If the four of them could make it to dinner without someone letting on, the evening could just be perfect. Just as their lives would be.
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