regency au } { of family libraries and growing older

[braveandstupid]

Sam: But the sword fighting is this way...?

Patience: [glances back with a grin] I want to show you something.

Sam: Oh. Okay. [and he will let her lead him away]

Patience: [the manor has expanded over the years, given the growing family involved, and so it was more like three individual buildings that were connected, rather than one large one. The center was Laura's, while the west was Derek's - which happened to be more bedrooms than other rooms at this point, given her parents prolific tendencies towards children - while the east wing was Cora's. The library happened to be curated in the west wing, being her mother's personal project, which is where she leads Sam stopping outside the two double doors] So. This is my family's library.

Sam: You have your own library? [his eyes widen a bit] Cool.

Patience: Yeah. My mom built it. Just ... be careful with the special collections okay?

Sam: I won't touch anything unless you say it's okay. I know how delicate some books can be.

Patience: Good. [and with that, she'll step back to give them room to enter, opening the doors and revealing walls and walls of books]

Sam: [and he is totally Belle in this moment, looking around the library with wide, excited eyes]

Patience: [and that makes her smile, and she gestures for him to move ahead of her]

Sam: [which he will, going to the closest bookshelf and leaning in to look at the books] How does your mother organize them?

Patience: By subject, then by author. Is there something in particular you're looking for?

Sam: I wouldn't even know where to begin. [he turned to look back at her] And you have access to these anytime you want?

Patience: [she nods] I helped my mom transfer her collection from Mystic Falls after her room at Aunt Jenna's needed to be emptied.

Sam: And everyone in the Hale family adds their books to this?

Patience: Except for Uncle Peter. He has his own castle on the sea. But Lord Stilinski used books to woo my aunt so she has her own section of the library, and my father keeps the family archives here.

Sam: Wow. This is just... it's amazing. I could never imagine owning this many books in my life.

Patience: My father's family has been on this land for a long time. There's a great deal of history here.

Sam: I can see. [his finger trailed along the wood of a shelf] My family doesn't have this kind of history.

Patience: Well, maybe you could start it.

Sam: I would need a set home first.

Patience: [her head tips to the side] Your family does not have a manor?

Sam: There was a fire and it destroyed it when I was a baby. My father didn't have the money to rebuild it. We spent many years as a guest to another local lord, but since Dean started being able to compete in tourneys, we do them year round, and often as asked to be guests by a friend of my father's during the winter.

Patience: [she nods] That must be awful, to have nowhere to call home.

Sam: I never knew anything different. It's hard on Dean though. He knows he has to find a wife who is an only child so that he would get the manor as part of the dowry so that we can finally have a home, even if it's his wife's.

Patience: [she frowns softly] I understand that feeling. Not that my father is pressuring me to marry, but my prospects are lower in that respect.

Sam: Why would they be lower? You're the first child of a Hale, and your father is a great knight.

Patience: [her brow furrows, because how could he not know? Everyone knew. and in a way having to explain it makes it worse] But I am illegitimate. While I consider Elena my mother and she considers me her daughter, I was not born of her.

Sam: [he knew] So? You're still a very intelligent and beautiful woman. That's a problem your mother and father hold - you shouldn't bear repercussions because of that. It's not like you made it happen.

Patience: [her head ducks slightly, and she shrugs] The rest of the world doesn't seem to see it that way.

Sam: Yeah, well the rest of the world tends to be stupid.

Patience: [she gives a small shrug] I don't disagree. But it doesn't change the truth. [or how much it hurts when knights like the ones when they first met draw her attention to it. she has no doubt that her father and mother love her, but she often wishes that there was something that would make her more definitively theirs. There's part of her that still wishes she was a werewolf like Clara is.]

Sam: No, but if it means anything - that's not something I care about. It's who we are that matters, not the stuff in the past we can't change.

Patience: [she smiles softly, before reaching over to give his hand a squeeze] Thank you. Your friendship means a great deal to me. Outside of my family, you are the only true ally I have.

Sam: Well, you are the same to me. Most of my friends are books.

Patience: [she smiles] Then hopefully you'll be able to make a few more here.

Sam: That would be nice. The people here seem to be very open and friendly.

Patience: We pride ourselves on being welcoming, if nothing else.

Sam: Would it be bad then if I suggest we skip the tourney and just spend the week here?

Patience: [she laughs] I wouldn't say no.

Sam: Then let's do that. [grins]

Patience: [she nods, before gesturing to the shelves] Well. Pick a place to start.

Sam: [licks his lips, and then just points randomly at a shelf] There.

Patience: [nods and off they go to look at some books. There are a pair of comfy chairs in a corner that they can use, and eventually Patience will get up to get a new book]

Clara: [and when she does, a small form leading a mane of dark hair will dart into the room and hide behind Sam's chair]

Sam: [and while he was distracted by the book, he heard the footsteps and looked around the sides of the chair trying to find the source of it]

Clara: [and there's tiny eight year-old Clara, huddling behind him with her hair half undone] Hello.

Sam: Hello. [she looks enough like Patience to hazard a guess] Are you Lady Patience's sister?

Clara: Yes. I'm Clara.

Sam: Hi Lady Clara. I'm Sam.

Elena: [and the doors open again, and it's simply her mother's voice] Clara!

Clara: [her eyes widen] Don't tell her I'm here!

Sam: But I... I... Um. [and he's going to just try to hide behind his book]

Elena: [and there's a huff as she comes around the corner and spots a boy she doesn't recognize right away] Hello.

Sam: [and he will look up and put on a smile] Hello. [yup, no idea what to say]

Elena: [and there's a curious look] You wouldn't have happened to have seen an eight year-old who can't sit still, have you?

Sam: I'm not sure? [because he didn't get an age yet]

Elena: You're not sure.

Sam: [shakes his head, and finishes by motioning with his head behind him]

Elena: Mmmmm. [and she starts to move around to the opposite side of the chair where Clara is starting to poke her head out] She can be so sneaky.

Sam: If she isn't able to sit still, I would assume being sneaky would be a habit she would learn, My Lady.

Elena: Mmmm-hmmm. [and slowly Clara inches out as her mother disappears from view, but when she's finally visible Elena surges forward and scoops her up] But she forgets that I'm rather fast too.

Clara: [glances up with an innocent smile] Hello, Mama.

Sam: [smiles a bit, then realizes who the woman is and stands up] I'm sorry, Lady Elena I did not know it was you.

Elena: [she laughs] Relax, it's fine. Really. [and she looks down at Clara] Though making our guests lie for you is not very ladylike, Clara.

Sam: I did not lie. I didn't know how old she was.

Elena: Just because you didn't, doesn't mean she didn't ask you to. [and she goes to take Patience's chair, setting Clara down in front of her to finish her hair] You must be Sam Winchester.

Sam: Yes, my Lady. Lady Patience wanted me to see your library. It's beautiful.

Elena: Thank you. [and she'll go to work on Clara's hair] I'm very proud of it.

Sam: I was telling Lady Patience that I have never seen a library this big that someone owned.

Elena: Well, this is what happens when you let two historians get married and your sister-in-law has an appetite for all written word.

Sam: That would create such a library, I assume.

Elena: Indeed it does. I'm just glad we have enough space to house it.

Sam: The manor here is quite spacious.

Elena: We've added a lot of space over the years, to fit three families.

Sam: I'm sure it will need more if the next generation chooses to stay as well.

Elena: We have a lot of girls in this generation. I'm not sure that will be a concern, beyond Amelia. And Lord Stilinski has property in Austria that his son will inherit one day.

Sam: Oh. [which means that a Hale daughter would need a manor to go live at. Not that he was thinking of Patience like that but it does make it feel he shouldn't either]

Elena: [she glances over to him as she finishes Clara's hair and releases her] It's not mandatory, mind you. I'm sure Derek would love to keep all of his daughters close. But their husbands may not feel the same way.

Sam: The manor may overflow with people too.

Elena: [she laughs] It's true. We'll have to see when the time comes.

Sam: You have a very beautiful home though, m'Lady.

Elena: Thank you. [she finishes Clara's hair and releases her back into the house] Though I can't take too much credit for it. I married in.

Sam: But many of these books are from your home before you married in, yes?

Elena: [she nods] My mother was one of the historians for Mystic Falls.

Sam: Oh, wow. I haven't been to that town but I've heard about it. You know all the history then

Elena: I do. And that's not uncommon. We don't get very many visitors.

Sam: [he nods, not telling her why his family knows about Mystic Falls and his father's obsession]

Elena: [nope, but she's definitely making note of that, because not everyone knows Mystic Falls, so that is something of interest] Well, I better get back to preparations. Please enjoy the library.

Sam: Thank you, Lady Elena. [bows]

Elena: [she smiles in returns and heads off to find her husband]

Sam: [and he will go off to find Patience]

Elena: [and she makes her way out to the field where Derek is still talking to John?]

Derek: [yup, and he will introduce Elena to John Winchester, who will then go to find his eldest]

Elena: [and she will be lovely and gracious until he leaves before slipping her arm in her husband’s] I just had a lovely conversation with Sam.

Derek: [takes her arm and they can go walking] Oh?

Elena: [she nods] What do you know about their family?

Derek: [deep breath] Well, John Winchester was a knight who married the daughter of Samuel Campbell - who is from a long family line of monster hunters.

Elena: [she nods slowly] Sam knew of Mystic Falls.

Derek: Their mother was killed by something when Sam was a baby. That is why they no longer have a manor. John has taken up the hunter mantle and Dean is now training. Sam, from what I can tell, doesn't want to be a part of it. But there is something about the boy I'm still trying to figure out.

Elena: [she nods before glancing back over her shoulder] I just worry that if he has such a clear interest in Patience, how his father would react if he learned she was a werewolf's daughter.

Derek: He is aware, actually. That was what we were discussing. Unlike the Argents who hunt for sport against their code, the Campbells are reactive in only going to towns who are being hurt from a creature. My mother and Deanna Campbell had talked a few times.

Elena: [and then she relaxes a bit] Oh. Good.

Derek: Sir John had asked me my impressions on his son. He seems to fear that the creature that took his mother will come back for him. Until he knows for sure, he doesn't plan to allow him to marry as to prevent his wife being caught in the middle.

Elena: [she nods, because that makes sense] I could ask Bonnie to speak with him? Maybe she'll be able to divine something. Her grandmother was always good with those kinds of ... ailments.

Derek: Well, perhaps. I can only tell that Sam has a slight essence of sulfur in his scent.

Elena: Sulfur?

Derek: [nods] And I don't know what that means, because he is not possessed, and he is alive and human.

Elena: [she nods] Then speak with John and I will speak with Bonnie. If anything, she might be able to give them an answer.

Derek: [nods] But for now, I agree with him in that Sam and Patience's friendship is a good thing. They seem to feel comfortable with each other. Their separate pasts have made it hard for them to find peers to be that comfortable with.

Elena: [she smiles] It is. I certainly do not want her to interfere with that. I simply want her to be safe.

Derek: Are they hiding in the library?

Elena: [she laughs] They are. Sam is quite endeared by it.

Derek: That's good. I hear he has a love for them that rivals hers.

Elena: They're good friends for each other.

Derek: I'm also thinking that if they develop feelings naturally, that it would be a good match. It would be on them though.

Elena: Let's not rush them into marriage quite yet. She should enjoy having a friend for a while.

Derek: Oh, I won't. And of course Sir John isn't willing anyway. But the boy doesn't have to fear my disapproval of him spending time with her.

Elena: Good. And I'm sure if there's anything we need to hear, we'll hear it from Miranda.

Derek: [chuckles] Yes, we will.

Elena: [smiles as she lets her hand slip down to entwine his fingers with hers] They're growing up too fast.

Derek: I know. It scares me because that also means we're getting old.

Elena: [she wrinkles her nose] I'm sure that I'm the only one of us who looks it.

Derek: [turns to look at her] You, my wife, look just as beautiful as they day I laid eyes upon you.

Elena: [turns to face him more as well] My hair is graying. I think you might be a liar. A well-intentioned liar, but a liar all the same.

Derek: More beautiful then. [and he will lean in to kiss her]

Elena: [smiles as she kisses him back, one hand coming up to rest against his face] At least I get to enjoy my youthful husband.

Derek: Shush with this. You are younger than me and you know it.

Elena: [she laughs before leaning in to kiss him again] It's harder when I don't really feel as young anymore.

Derek: Than perhaps I need to find ways to make you feel young again.

Elena: You are certainly welcome to try.

Derek: [and there is that sparkle of mischief in his eyes] Challenge accepted.

Elena: [she knows that sparkle and she can't help but smile] Is it now?

Derek: Mmhmm. Though we do have guests so I will have to wait until tonight when we aren't entertaining to do so.

Elena: Mmmm. [she leans in closer with a smirk] Then I look forward to it. [and with that, she'll pull away from him and head back to where Laura is waiting for her to address something]

Derek: [and he will go off to check on his other daughters and then down to the knights.]

Elena: [and she will join him in the stands once the joust starts later, and there's a feast and dancing]

Derek: [and he is acting the perfect gentleman, but she knows that look in his eye whenever they lock. The promises of more late into the night when the kids are asleep]

Elena: [yes, she does know that look, and she's doing her best to ignore it because she still has to associate with other people including their children]

Derek: [and he's doing his best to make sure she can't, as he's leaving little things like flowers at her place setting, his hands wandering to little hot spots both when they are in the stands, and then when they are dancing. He's good at the covert flirting]

Elena: [yes he is, but eventually Clara will steal her so that she can put her to bed, and save her from Derek for a little bit while longer]

Derek: [and while she is gone, he will have gone to the bedroom and had one of the servants draw a bath for them, already scented. Since Elena had missed dessert, there are little cakes on a table by the bath along with the paired wine. Rose petals were along the floor from their chamber's doorway leading to the bath, and past it to the bedroom where massage oils awaited them in candle warmers. The fireplace was lit to keep them warm, and Derek was waiting for her to come to the room so that he could personally serve his wife all night long.]

Elena: [it takes three stories, and all kinds of persuasion to get their younger children into bed, and eventually she returns, tired from a long night of socializing and other duties. when she makes her way in though, she sees the rose petals and the other items and her eyes widen] ... Oh.

Derek: Good evening, my love. [and he will take her hand and kiss her knuckles] I have prepared your bath.

Elena: [her eyebrows rise at that as she lets him lead her] A bath. Is that what I smell?

Derek: And after your bath, there shall be a full body massage while the fireplace keeps you warm.

Elena: And what did I do to earn all this lovely attention?

Derek: By being the most beautiful, desirable woman of all at the tournament. No women compare to the glow of your face, the shine of your hair, or the slender curves of your body. I am not worthy of you, but if you will allow me to bestow these gifts upon you and worship at your altar, I will dedicate myself to you and only you.

Elena: [she smiles softly as she moves closer, sliding her arms around his neck] I believe I get to decide who's worthy of me and who isn't.

Derek: Does that mean you find me worthy of you? [and he will lean down closer to her, his lips inches from hers]

Elena: [she nods in agreement as she leans in to meet him] I've always found you worthy of me.

Derek: Why, I will never understand. [he smiled, and then kissed her deeply]

Elena: [she kisses him back, sinking into his arms as she has so many times before]

Derek: [and he will pull away after a moment] So, let me help you into the bath.

Elena: [she nods with a smile] I'll follow your lead, sir.

Derek: [and he will guide her into the tub, and then kneel down next to her as he reaches for the washing cloth]

Elena: [glances over] Aren't you going to join me?

Derek: No, I'm going to bath every inch of you, and I can't reach all of you when I'm in there.

Elena: [she laughs] Maybe not, but it's usually more fun.

Derek: [and he will lean in to kiss her neck] Oh, I have that planned when I get you to the bed.

Elena: [and that her smile fades just slightly before she nods] Fine. If I must wait, I'll wait.

Derek: [and he will start washing her, his hands starting at her neck, and then slowly going to gently clean her breasts]

Elena: [and she will close her eyes, enjoying his touch and trying not to distract herself with things she can't control]

Derek: [and he is going to take the time to wash each breast, and then make sure it's clean as he draws a nipple between his lips]

Elena: [and that has her taking a gasping breath, her hands moving to sides of the tub to brace herself]

Derek: [and as he suckles on that nipple, his hand will slide down to wash her belly and then thighs]

Elena: [and she will just sink onto the sensations, her body arching up to press into his hands]

Derek: [and when his lips are done with her breasts, he is going to gently guide one of her legs up into the air, kissing his way along them as his hands wash the skin, sliding under the water to wash her inner thighs and that spot between, which he will then repeat with her other leg]

Elena: [her eyes close as she moves easily to let him position her, gasping as he hits the spots he knows she loves. Fifteen years together has given him plenty of time to learn her and he puts that to good use every time]

Derek: [and he will lay towels on the edges of the tub, resting her legs out of the water and split just enough that he can then go to "clean" between her legs, using his hand since the washcloth is too rough for those little valleys between the fleshy lips there.]

Elena: [and one hand will move to his shoulder to steady herself, her eyes closing and her head falling back against the tub with each of the sensations]

Derek: [and as his lips play along her neck, his fingers will slip inside of her, thrusting in and out at a lazy pace while his other hand goes up to cup and massage her breast again]

Elena: [And she will feel that pace slowly grow until she slips over the edge, tipping her head so that she can catch his lips]

Derek: [and he will kiss her hard as he keeps it up, giving her something to help ride her through her orgasm]

Elena: [she hums into the kiss as she starts to come down, pulling back with a small smile] That was lovely.

Derek: That was just the beginning. I believe you are clean enough now. [and he is going to reach in and gently pick his wife up from the water, carrying her to the couch where he has towels warming by the fire for him to dry her off with]

Elena: [And she happily goes with him, sliding her arms around his neck as he carries her] If that's the beginning, I'm curious as to where this is going to end.

Derek: [and he will be patting her skin dry as he starts from the top and working downward] Well, I need to make sure you are dry before I can massage you, as oil and water do not mix

Elena: That is true. [though at one point she will catch his hand] But as much as I love that you can make me feel young again, that doesn't change the fact that I'm not.

Derek: [looking up at her] Elena... just don't think about it for the night, okay?

Elena: [and she reaches up to brush against the side of his face, because as much as she may like to] Deaton told me we needed to be careful. Because if I got pregnant again, it may not end well.

Derek: Elena.

Elena: Derek. [her hand reaches to cup the other side of his face, pulling him closer] We can't keep avoiding this forever.

Derek: [and he will lick his lips, and then stand] Fine. [and he will go to reach for his robe because the mood has been broken]

Elena: [she knows and she reaches for a nearby blanket to wrap herself in]

Derek: If you fear that Deaton's worries are true, then we will no longer copulate until I can find a way to prevent you from becoming pregnant.

Elena: I can help. [she watches him curiously] It's not as though I want to stop.

Derek: I know, but I will not risk you. [sighs] We can look into solutions in the morning. I need to go for a walk and cool myself down.

Elena: You don't have to. [and she gets up to make her way closer] There are other options that don't involve risking me but still involve me.

Derek: I know, but I am no longer in the mood. I'm sorry.

Elena: [sighs before nodding] Alright. I'm sorry as well.

Derek: I can send one of your ladies up to massage you. We shouldn't let the oil go to waste. [and he will pull his sleep pants on]

Elena: [she shakes her head] We can save it. I'd rather it be you.

Derek: As would I. I will be back soon. [he will lean down to kiss her, and then go to take a walk in their hallways]

Elena: [kisses him back, puts the oil away and dresses for bed. the distance hurts more than she'd like but she'll curl up in bed and wait for him to come back]