regency au } { of expectations and confidants

[hereditare]

Laura: [there's a lake on the edge of the property that Laura likes to sit at, a stone bench that looks more weathered than most places but it was built for her mother, and she sits there to feel close to her when she's missing her. She's caught up in her thoughts, not really paying as much attention as she should to those around her]

Stiles: [Malia was spending the afternoon doing lessons and Stiles had some time on his hands. He had taken to wandering the property, trying to find out where he could and where the boundaries lay. He had been to that lake before and it was a beautiful place, but he wasn't expecting Laura to be there when he arrived. His conversation with Cora on his mind, he cleared his throat a bit] M'lady, I'm sorry to intrude upon you.

Laura: [glances over with a small smile in Stiles’ direction, before shaking her head] Not at all.

Stiles: [he walked a bit closer] You looked as if you could use some company, M'lady. But I can leave if you wish to contemplate more alone.

Laura: No. By all means.

Stiles: [goes to sit next to her, looking over the lake] This is a very beautiful spot on your lands.

Laura: [she nods with a small smile] It was my mother's favorite.

Stiles: Lady Cora spoke of her passing to me. You have my sympathies.

Laura: [she nods] It has been hard. She was our alpha.

Stiles: It's never easy to lose a mother. I don't think I understand though how much more it would affect you.

Laura: The alpha has a connection to the rest of the pack. They're supposed to lead and care for them. Losing a member of your pack is like losing a limb - that only goes tenfold when you lose your alpha.

Stiles: [he nodded] So it would be like dying yourself, but only inside?

Laura: [nods] Though they have me now. [though she didn't really get a chance to grieve. She had to step up and be the alpha they needed. That kind of vulnerability wasn't allowed]

Stiles: And it would take a blind man not to see how much they all love you.

Laura: I know they do.

Stiles: [smiles a bit] And some a bit more than you need them too? [a small smile]

Laura: [her eyebrow goes up at that] And to whom would you be referring?

Stiles: To the gentleman whom I've spied leaving you flowers on your balcony, m'lady.

Laura: Ah. [sighs] Yes, some a little more than I'd like.

Stiles: Has he been told that his attentions are not wanted, m'lady? Sometimes us men do not know things until we are told them plainly.

Laura: I told him I was spoken for.

Stiles: Perhaps he doesn't intend to woe you from your suitor, but instead to make you smile. It is not meant to offend, but you do not seem to spend much time smiling since I have arrived, unless it was a situation you had to appear happy.

Laura: [she glances away with a sigh] It's ... more complicated than it seems.

Stiles: I can assure you, m'lady, we are not the complicated of the sexes. We tend to think very simple thoughts most of the time. I think he just needs to know his place, and he will accept it to be able to keep your friendship.

Laura: I didn't mean with Sir Parrish.

Stiles: Oh, I'm sorry.

Laura: [she sighs] I just have a lot to consider.

Stiles: Do you want someone to talk to about it?

Laura: Most days I'm not sure what difference that would make.

Stiles: It would get it out of your head. Sometimes just talking it out to someone helps, even if the person isn't any help at all.

Laura: Perhaps, but with these thoughts the weight would still be there. I am not sure I would want to place that burden on anyone else.

Stiles: But if people are willing to take the burden... perhaps it will help. Someone who can understand and be at your side.

Laura: [glances to him with a wry smile] I will have a husband for that.

Stiles: Yeah, but until you are married, you should not be burdened to be alone. [smiles back a bit]

Laura: [there's a soft, short laugh at that, before she nods] I will be fine, Master Stiles. Don't worry about me.

Stiles: [his smile softened a bit] Well, I tend to be one who does worry about the people I care about.

Laura: And that is a very noble quality. I'm sure my sister dearly appreciates it.

Stiles: Your lady sister honors me too much with her presence. I owe a lot to her.

Laura: Despite her ... winning personality, Cora doesn't make many friends. I'm not sure what drew her to you, but I'm glad she did. You shouldn't have had to stay in that place.

Stiles: She's actually the first friend I've really had. Lord Jackson never really wanted to be friends with me.

Laura: That's because Lord Jackson was a spoiled, insufferable brat.

Stiles: And yet you were going to have your sister marry him. [eyebrow up]

Laura: That contract was made when they were children by my mother. I couldn't break it simply because he grew up to be awful. I needed something ... stronger. That happened to turn out to be you.

Stiles: [looks at his hands] And to think, if I hadn't rode my horse that day to talk to her in the forest...

Laura: It's funny what little twists of fate get us to where we need to be.

Stiles: And you never see them coming. Or how the problems you have are almost instantly changed in those moments forever.

Laura: [she nods] Fate is funny that way.

Stiles: And maybe me being here now can also benefit you. I happen to be pretty good at listening and keeping quiet, after all.

Laura: [she glances over, watching him for a moment, before turning her eyes back to the water again] I'm not even sure where I would begin.

Stiles: I have found that the beginning is usually the best place. [grins]

Laura: [she laughs] There isn't really a beginning. It just is what it is.

Stiles: From what your lady sister told me, there was a war, and the peace treaty is contingent on you marrying a lord of the Argent family.

Laura: [and Cora talks too much] Yes, that is true.

Stiles: [yes, but she has a friend to talk to, Laura. Be happy?] Can I ask what kind of war it was, m'lady?

Laura: I ... can't really say for sure how it started. I was very young when it ended - Derek hadn't even been born yet.

Stiles: [and seeing how old Derek is] That was a long time ago.

Laura: [she nods] Daniel and I were both children when the promise was made. We weren't really old enough to be given a choice.

Stiles: And has he tried to at least come to know you since then?

Laura: [she nods] We've met several times. Supervised visits with my uncle and his sister. [which ... turned into Peter and Kate taking pot shots at each other but that's standard fare for those two]

Stiles: And…what is he like?

Laura: Very proud of his accomplishments. [he talks about them a lot]

Stiles: But there's nothing between you two that developed?

Laura: [glances back to him, confused. She's not entirely sure what he means by that]

Stiles: You talk about him being proud of his accomplishments, my lady. Those are things that you went to. Not what he is like with you.

Laura: [she pauses] That ... is how he was with me. They were all he would talk about.

Stiles: So he has not tried to know you as you are at all?

Laura: [her head tips to the side] I think he presumes we will have our marriage for that.

Stiles: Well, it is true he will be forced to get to know you at that point. But if I may say, if you have spent time with him and he has not wished to know you... do you believe he will change come marriage?

Laura: You assume that that is something that matters.

Stiles: Shouldn't it?

Laura: [she shakes her head] We need to marry each other to honor the treaty. That's the only thing that matters.

Stiles: [nods] I will admit that I don't understand these contracts for marriage, m'lady. I don't see how they are right in the world if it only forces people to make a family with someone they don't want to.

Laura: The nobility have a lot of luxuries, Master Stiles. But apparently love is something one that only the common folk can afford.

Stiles: But if you are the ones with all the power... how can you not use it for yourself in this way?

Laura: It is because we are the ones with all the power. We need to use it wisely. Merge the right families. Protect the right alliances. When it comes to long term commitments such as this, we must think with our heads and not our hearts.

Stiles: I'm afraid my education does not let me understand things like that, m'lady.

Laura: Think of it as the difference between a hearty meal and a dinner of desserts. You could indulge in love, something that is as turbulent and emotional and complicated, and entrust an estate to them, but you cannot survive on desserts forever. Meanwhile, if you choose a partner from a formidable family, who you know will be able to support you and your people should problems arise - it's strategy.

Stiles: [he listens, thinking about the examples and nods as he tries to understand] But I would think that if you gave yourself only to hearty meals with no deserts ever, you would never find enjoyment of the food because there is no sweetness within a meal. You should always have some dessert with a meal to balance it.

Laura: And there's no saying that that won't come with time.

Stiles: Do you believe it will?

Laura: [nods] Maybe not through him, but through our children.

Stiles: [nods] Then I will pray you find it, m'lady. No one should resign themselves to a life without love.

Laura: You and me both.

Stiles: If I may be bold in asking - is that why you push Sir Parrish away? You do not want to taste the dessert in case you never find it again?

Laura: [she pauses for a moment] Werewolves do not fall in love the way humans do. If I allow myself to care for him or even eventually love him, there's a chance that he may be my mate, and we are only allowed one of those. To find him and then never be with him would be far worse than never having loved him at all.

Stiles: [nods] That I can understand. [because he won't lie, there is a small feeling he was having towards the lady Cora, but he would never speak of it] He may not understand that though. If he is not a wolf.

Laura: I know.

Stiles: To save you both the pain of it, he probably will not stop until he is specifically told the reason why he can't have you anymore than you can have him. He may not understand it like I did not until now.

Laura: [her face flickers, that part of her that doesn't want him to stop rising to the surface some, but she shakes it away] I will speak to him about it eventually. Though I've made it clear that I am spoken for.

Stiles: Yes, but spoken for does not mean that you are not allowing yourself to form any attachments to him. And again, pardon my brashness m'lady…but he may just do it to see you smile since it rare that you do so.

Laura: And is there a crime in that?

Stiles: No. But if it hurts you in the end, he needs to know that it does so.

Laura: [her lips purse for a moment, before she nods]

Stiles: [he gives her a small smile] Though I do agree you should smile more. You have a nice one.

Laura: [she smiles softly at that, before glancing back to him] The lack thereof is not intentional, I assure you.

Stiles: I had figured, but I'm also one who hates to see people sad or hurting. It is how I got into my own situation in a way.

Laura: I appreciate the concern.

Stiles: I owe your family a great debt, m'lady. If being able to help you smile helps in some way to pay it off, it is an honor.

Laura: I think I can live with that kind of repayment.

Stiles: [nods] Has talking about it helped at all?

Laura: A little.

Stiles: Then perhaps we should do it more often. Unless there is another you may find more suitable to talk with.

Laura: [she pauses for a moment, because Peter would probably not be pleased, but Peter is never pleased about anything] If you do not mind.

Stiles: I do not mind. From what I have been told, you are the alpha here. [he's trying to understand the terms and use them correctly] Your word is law.

Laura: That is true.

Stiles: I will always be at your service, m'lady.

Laura: Thank you, Stiles.

Stiles: You are most welcome.

Laura: [nods and turns her eyes back to the water again]

Stiles: [and he will just sit there quietly with her until she dismisses him or someone comes to get him]