「ℐuliana → †ravers」 (kiska) wrote in valesco,
@ 2008-08-27 21:19:00

Entry tags:

[Amery!]
It was so much more boring being the wife of an Azkaban detainee than Juliana ever would have thought. When she wasn't at work, she spent most of her time doing nothing but lounging around the empty house or her parents' place, just--wiling away the time. In a sick sense, she almost missed Orpheus, if only because he gave her a preoccupation, someone to spend her time thinking of new ways to bother. Then again, Orpheus was practically insane, and if he had been around, she probably would have been laying dead in a ditch somewhere by now, so it wasn't that much of a regret. She rather liked being alive, thank you very much, even if her current situation didn't rouse up any warm feelings of c'est la vie! to be mentioned.

Lounging back on her old bed, she stared at the ceiling and pursed her lips at the thought. This certainly hadn't been in her plans at all, and although the timing was utterly convenient, Juliana did by no means wish to be a mother. Not by her disgrace of a husband, not by any random man, and certainly not by her cousin. It was fortunate that she had a very tight lip when she set her mind to it, because if anyone were to find out the rather unsavory details of her relationship with Christopher Loftus apart from either of the two, she was certain that she would be disowned straightaway. Not that the whole of pureblooded society weren't a bunch of inbreeding sons of bitches, but she wasn't married to her inbreeding son of a bitch. That was a terrible no-no, as far as their twisted protocol went.

Then again, as her own personal protocol went, having a child with her husband was even worse. But that was what she would have everyone believe--apart from her siblings, who would of course never know the real truth either way--in an effort to keep her good name.

A nail file in her hand, she worked at her long nails blindly, idly, and yawned a little. This was all so terribly boring. She had been hoping that there would be some excitement at home--at least Grayson beheading a house elf or her mother sharing ridiculous gossip with some friends that she could listen in on--but alas, her journey elicited nothing. She would have almost done better to go home and finish her task of destroying each and every Travers family heirloom that she could find.

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otets
2008-08-28 04:58 am UTC (link)

Popping back into his old childhood home, truthfully, held no appeal to Amery. He found it boring and awash with older memories he had no use for. It reminded him a lot of the time he and Louisa spent together, but he didn't have much patience for those kinds of memories these days. However, being the ever-dutiful son he was, he made it his business to drop by every now and then, essentially to check the order of the household.

It was doubly convenient when he was informed that Miss Juliana Natalya was also in the house at this time.

He did feel somewhat guilty for threatening to "betray her trust." It was an immense surprise to hear, and Amery was concerned about the identity of the father, as well as deeply curious. Of course, he had to respect her wishes, but he did rather fancy that Grayson deserved to know as much as Amery did, and he was slightly concerned that they might be forced to draw sharp objects against each other again.

Thus, Amery would prefer it if, instead, they drew their blades against the father if that kind of emotional venting was needed.

But she really didn't need to be so petulantly upset with him, and he imagined that if he at least attempted to... apologize for his earlier behavior (but not fully retract it), it would mend some of the rift.

Well, that's what he assumed.

He knocked on the door and paused. "Juliana?"

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kiska
2008-08-28 05:15 am UTC (link)

Juliana's head turned as she heard the knock on her door, not having expected anyone to come around. When she heard that it was her brother, she was doubly surprised. Of all the people that she had been anticipating talking to any time soon, Amery had been on the very bottom of that list, what after that rather infuriating tiff they'd found themselves in a few days prior. She was still rather upset with her older brother, having had her confidence threatened to be betrayed. She did not care what the reason for his wanting to tell Grayson was, because it did not override the act had been unspeakable of him. Amery was her favorite brother, the one that she felt comfortable speaking with on almost any matter, and apparently she could not trust even him when it came down to something as important as this was.

She thought for a moment of igonring him, but after a few seconds of feeble silence, found that the efforts were futile. Her anger, however large, had at least been cooled minimally since they had spoken last. Telling Daniella her secret--and thus assuring that Grayson would be the very last of the siblings to know--had felt rather nice, after all.

Despite this, her tone remained clipped as she spoke up. A bit of Slytherin-esque behavior did not excuse his breach of trust. "Come in, if you must."

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otets
2008-08-28 05:22 am UTC (link)

That surprised him. He had been anticipating at least another few minutes of trying to calmly reason with her with a door separating them.

Well, so much the better!

Of course, her tone was far from welcoming, but really, what else could he have expected? She wouldn't be his sister if she had been all smiles. Especially considering that she never was all smiles.

Amery bowed his head slightly upon entering and paused a few moments in the midst of trying to find the proper words. "You are--er--well, I trust? At least," he amended, "better than when we last spoke?"

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kiska
2008-08-28 05:44 am UTC (link)

"Much," she answered, but from her tone you'd never tell it. Juliana was pleased, truthfully, but she wasn't in the mood for gloating--there was still that part of her that was too angry at him, and so her voice stayed quick, informal. Nothing that she could do would make things completely better with what he had done, and she was not about to let him assume that just because she had gotten her revenge meant that she forgave him. Juliana was not an easy forgiver.

She turned her head away from Amery as he entered, not really inclined to look at him for the moment. Even when she was vexed with him, Amery held a rather soft spot in her heart--she really couldn't afford letting him get off easily after what he'd done.

Juliana continued to fiddle with her nail file, allowing a silence to fall between them for a decidedly uncomfortable amount of time as nothing more than a punishment, and then spoke the words that had been itching in the forefront of her mind. "I suppose you haven't spoken to Daniella lately." Of course he hadn't, if he was here and not having a conniption fit.

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otets
2008-08-28 06:08 am UTC (link)

Normally, staring was considered rude, but when she was so determinedly not looking at him, he didn't know much what else to do in the stony silence that lingered.

Their relationship had always been an easy one, and their fights few and far between, but it was always unfortunate to him that he did anything to upset her. He would begin to chalk irrational behavior up to pregnancy hormones, since heaven forbid somebody in his family do something irrational of their own free will, but Amery thought he should perhaps go easy on Juliana.

Because it was unfair, after all, what he'd done. He willingly admitted to that, but he would not apologize for doing what he thought was best.

The mention of Daniella, however, was not what he was expecting. Amery folded his arms and leaned against the door frame. "Not as such, no. She's invited me over for some time next week, but-- have you spoken with her?"

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kiska
2008-08-28 06:20 am UTC (link)

"Oh yes, Daniella and I have spoken," she spoke casually, lifting a hand up towards the ceiling to examine the work on her nails. Juliana pondered over them for a moment before bringing her hand back down and deciding that her ring finger could use a bit more working on.

She could tell she had caught Amery off guard, which was good, and moved on to the next order of business--wondering how long it would take for her brother to understand that she had betrayed him right back. She hoped he wasn't that daft; she didn't have the patience necessary to draw this out.

Juliana continued on after a moment, unable to stop the small bit of pleasure that crept into her voice. "After all, our dear sister is one of the most exemplary examples of proper motherhood that I know. She has been giving me some lovely hints on things to expect, and of course the practice with Edmund is more than welcome."

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otets
2008-08-28 06:32 am UTC (link)

"Oh, Juliana, you didn't. Tell me you didn't."

Amery fought the urge to bring his hand to his forehead with a resounding slap. Juliana could be the most childish when it was most likely to irritate him. Of course because he'd almost gone against her wishes and told Grayson, she evened the score by telling Daniella.

Truthfully, he couldn't even anticipate what the course of events would be now. It probably wouldn't matter when Grayson found out now, since he was the last sibling in the know either way. There was no telling how he'd react, either, it could simply be "Oh, really?" or some sort of violent irritation.

Amery was certainly trying to avoid the latter. In fact, he was supposed to get a visit from Grayson today, how wonderfully ironic.

He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "When did you tell her?"

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kiska
2008-08-28 06:54 am UTC (link)

Alright, there was no helping it now as a satisfied smirk broke out onto her face at Amery's reaction. That was exactly what she had been looking for and she had gotten it. She knew that he knew she had only done this to get back at him, that this was all another game of hers, but figured it wouldn't hurt anything to turn and let him see just how widely she was smiling over this whole ordeal. This was what he got for crossing her.

"Ohhh, I don't know," she mused with a little shrug. "A couple days ago, maybe? It's hard to recall."

Of course Juliana knew that she was treading on dangerous water with keeping Grayson out of the fold. She was of course expecting to be yelled at, but it was a small sacrifice for having worse to come for Amery when their little brother realized that he had known beforehand and had not said anything. Daniella was in no danger of Grayson's wrath, being Daniella, but Amery most definitely was. It all worked out so nicely like that.

"I don't see why it bothers you, love. You're the one who wanted me to tell people."

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otets
2008-08-28 07:13 am UTC (link)

"In a specific order would have been nice, Juliana Natalya," Amery said, waiting a few moments to release the bridge of his nose.

No, he was sure of it. Grayson was going to be in a rage. At least Amery had some idea of what to expect now. That didn't change the fact that he was incredibly annoyed with his younger sister. Protocol, compassion, logic, all thrown out the window. This was just going to work out perfectly.

Amery gave her a hunted look. "I refrain from saying this often, because it usually isn't true, but you have to be the most annoying sibling. I put my slice-happy brother in front of you."

He moved his head from side to side, cracking it, in an effort to get his head thinking clearer. Damage control was what he needed. Oh, this was all so not to his taste, he hated when things didn't go as planned.

With a deep sigh, he shrugged. "You'll have to explain it to him first at any rate. I suppose we'll just see what happens. Really, Juliana, badly done. Badly done, indeed."

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kiska
2008-08-28 07:24 am UTC (link)

"Explain?" She laughed quietly. "Oh no no, Amery, I won't be saying a single thing to Grayson--at least not to him specifically. He can find out with everyone else, and then you may explain to him why you didn't tell him sooner. Doesn't it all just work out peachily that way?"

Juliana seemed overall unaffected by the comments on being his most annoying sibling. He was at the bottom of her list these days as well, so it wasn't as if the feelings weren't reciprocated.

Finally, she finished on her nails and threw the file carelessly onto a side table. She moved to sit up against the headboard and regarded her brother more fully, crossing her arms over her chest as she did so. "Unless, that is, you would like to go ahead with your plan to tell him all about my secret now, despite Daniella's involvement. You've waited about a week, I'd say---if you're lucky, you'll get by with only a slight maiming at best."

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otets
2008-08-28 07:38 am UTC (link)

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm so sorry, my darling sister, did you not get all up in arms because I was threatening to reveal your precious secret? I certainly won't be shouldering your blame if you so obstinately refuse to tell him prior to everybody else knowing. I'm not so gallant. I might have, had you not taken the shorter route to causing misery and told Daniella, but I'm afraid you stopped the game at that point."

There certainly were times when he loved this family. Yes, just now, he could see why, they did all get along so perfectly, and see eye to eye on nearly every issue. Clearly, Juliana's feathers weren't ruffled. He couldn't say the same for his, for they were certainly mussed. It was all very well to play games and such, but at such a cost as this? Well, he supposed, she was his sister, and wasn't he quite certain that was starting to become an excuse for even the most appalling things she'd done.

Amery advanced a few steps into the room, arms now crossed. "It isn't as if I can't handle a spat with my brother, though it's so kind of you to worry," he rolled his eyes at the last part. "I'm just curious if you've given any thought to what your relationship with Grayson might be after this?"

She certainly couldn't imagine he wouldn't be sore at her for a time, no matter how upset he was with Amery.

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kiska
2008-08-28 05:09 pm UTC (link)

She arched an eyebrow right back at her brother. "Yes, of course I was 'all up in arms', but as you threatened to tell him on your terms, in order to save your own hide, I had to come around with a way to get my revenge. I don't take well to threats."

Her lips continued to be set in a triumphant smirk, forgetting her earlier preoccupation with not appearing to gloat. She wanted to gloat now, very much, as her plans were all falling into place.

"You see, the beauty of it all is that you won't have the chance to choose whether you will shoulder the blame or not. I intend to simply let him know the situation---that you were far too insensitive with me, far too rash, and thus I was set off in a rage to make things difficult for you, making his not knowing all your fault. As the good sister I am, I would have told him far earlier, but what with all these terrible hormones running through my system, I could not help my instinct reaction. I'm certain that Daniella would vouch for me there."

Juliana shrugged in response to his question about her relationship with her younger brother. "I have spent all my life doing things to get on Grayson's nerves. I am no stranger to a cold shoulder for a week or two, Amery."

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otets
2008-08-28 06:46 pm UTC (link)

He snorted. "Yes, well, you've never done anything quite so asinine as this; I should think a week-long cold shoulder to be easy punishment for what's in store."

Well, his presence here was useless thus far. And he'd stumbled into more knowledge than he would have liked by discovering Daniella had been told. He wondered if Daniella could stand keeping a secret from Grayson. But the sheer fact that it was her meant that she very rarely could do something to upset Grayson. Or, he amended, make Grayson upset with Daniella.

Still, that did leave him in a difficult position. Grayson would be in a rage and he'd have to deal with it. He was almost looking forward to what appeared to be a tradition in the making. Amery certainly rathered it be sooner than later.

"I did come to you with designs on at least attempting to make things right. Clearly, you're still upset, so that's rendered my intentions here useless. Thus, I wish you'd at least had the foresight to keep me out of it, for I cannot see how you could possibly have expected me to agree to keeping silent for more than a week or two. Perhaps my intentions were selfish, but I believe very strongly in self-preservation. And at any rate, he is family, Juliana, it isn't fair to play favorites like that. He deserves to know as much as Daniella and I do."

He turned to go. "Anything else, dearest sister?"

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