Log In

Home
    - Create Journal
    - Update
    - Download

Scribbld
    - News
    - Paid Accounts
    - Invite
    - To-Do list
    - Contributors

Customize
    - Customize
    - Create Style
    - Edit Style

Find Users
    - Random!
    - By Region
    - By Interest
    - Search

Edit ...
    - User Info
    - Settings
    - Your Friends
    - Old Entries
    - Userpics
    - Password

Need Help?
    - Password?
    - FAQs
    - Support Area


Cael Gray ([info]winsome_wizard) wrote in [info]valesco,
@ 2013-06-23 15:14:00


Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:cael gray, cecilia hooke

Cecilia
Cael had been pacing the yard for the last hour or so, looking like a crazy person with the way he kept fidgeting with the box that was in his pocket; not to mention the way he had been talking to his dog as though she was going to be able to give him some piece of mind. He sure as hell hadn't been able to talk to anyone else about the decision he had made about a week or two ago, when he had first started looking at rings. It wasn't even that he didn't have people to talk to - he had his friends, and Charlie and Delilah, but they had way too much shit going on to deal with him having a panic attack about what he was planning on doing that night.

He was nervous. He was extremely nervous, which is why he kept going over the worst case scenarios with the confused looking pup who kept watching him move from one side of the yard to the other, her head tilted to display her confusion.

"What if she says no? What the hell am I gonna do?"

He groaned, his hand coming up to scratch at the back of his neck, swallowing thickly as he waited for Cecilia to get home. She had gone out shopping, which had given him enough time to set things up before she returned. He had made her dinner, which was being kept warm on the table outside - he had placed a simple charm on it to prevent the heat from escaping, and to make sure that the bugs stayed away. It was a beautiful night, with a ton of stars overhead.

"She's gonna know something is up. What if she starts freaking out before I even get the chance to say what I wanna say?"

He groaned, and eventually plopped down to sit on the edge of the deck next to the dog, who placed her head in his lap, allowing him to rub behind her ears.

"You think I'm doing the right thing, don't you girl?" He stopped petting her for a moment, and watched as she lifted her head and licked his face. It was a good enough answer for him, and he smirked before he gave her another scratch behind the ears. He heard the front door open, and he swallowed thickly. God, he was so bloody nervous. He had to keep cool though, or else she'd know something was up for sure. He rose to his feet, making his way inside in order to greet her, his eyes focusing in on the shopping bags she had brought back with her.

"Had a successful run, I see." He knew she was used to carrying home a dozen more bags than the few she had come back home with back before she had started living with him - back before her family had cut her off. Still, he wanted her to have whatever she wanted - or whatever he could afford to give her. He lived above middle class, but he wasn't as well off as her family and family friends had been - not by a long shot.



(Post a new comment)


[info]cecilias
2013-06-23 10:48 pm UTC (link)
To say such a thing was an understatement, that was for sure. There was no doubt that the luxury Cecilia enjoyed living with Cael--which was, to be certain, still a degree of luxury even to her--was nothing compared to the endless supply of money and fancy things she had been brought up with. Despite the nice home and fairly fat paycheck he received, there was no comparison to the wealth of any of her past beaus, or her former family.

It had bothered her for a while. While this was a fact that Cecilia did not jump to admit about herself, she was by birth rather entitled and materialistic. Even given how lucky she was to not be living on the streets at all, much less in an upper class home and not even having to work for it, she simply could not help the feeling of lack in the beginning. No matter how hard Cael obviously tried to make up for something that was not his fault, and something that he should not have had to feel he had to live up to for anyone's sake.

But that had been then. When had it changed, she was not quite sure, but Cecilia imagined that it had been somewhere around the time that this wonderful, kind-hearted man standing before her had told her that he loved her. Around the time when she watched him silently--for her sake, even--go through the torment while she flipped back and forth between staying or abandoning him for a much richer, much more powerful, much more pureblooded betrothed. It had changed then, probably, she thought. That must have been when she realized that she wasn't just lucky, she was too lucky.

And the Cecilia Hooke who always knew that she deserved everything began to realize that she deserved absolutely none of this that had fallen into her lap.

So it was that newly-discovered humility with which she set down her modest loot on the counter and gave him a genuine smile. "I did pretty good today, I think," she agreed, without the slighest hint of obliging him in her tone. Yes, the past nearly two years had certainly changed her.

Cecilia abandoned her bags immediately to lean towards him to plant a kiss on his cheek--at which time she realized that he smelled of something different than usual. The aroma of spices, perhaps Italian, clung to his shirt and she leaned her face plafully into his neck to plant another kiss there.

"You smell wonderful," she spoke into his skin with a mischievous grin. "Are you planning to be my dinner tonight?" Because she wouldn't have had a problem with that at all.

(Reply to this)(Thread)


[info]winsome_wizard
2013-06-23 11:47 pm UTC (link)
There was no denying that it had been more than difficult, waiting for her to make her decision on whether or not he was someone she was willing to give up everything for...but that wasn't something to be taken lightly. He knew it was a hard, since he was everything she had been raised to believe was wrong - or at the very least, he sure as hell wasn't right by her family's standards. He wasn't a pureblood wizard, he didn't come from a wealthy family - hell, he hadn't even graduated from Hogwarts. He had gone there for most of his schooling, but he took his N.E.W.T.S. at Durmstrang, and that was where he had graduated. It shouldn't have mattered, but as far as Cael was concerned, none of it should really matter. Then again he had been raised much differently - he had been raised to be accepting of all people, despite their socioeconomic status. So while that whole ordeal was going on, Cael had tried to keep placing himself in her shoes. He kept trying to think about all she was giving up, even though there was definitely some selfish part of him that was only thinking about what he would be losing, if she chose to stay.

He definitely wouldn't be standing there with a ring in his pocket if she hadn't.

Cael smirked as she made a comment about the way he smelled, though it quickly turned into a grin when she asked her question. His arm snaked around her waist, pulling her in closer. Just the feeling of her lips against his skin, and the warmth of her breath against his neck as she spoke made him all the more anxious about everything he had planned for that night. He couldn't lose her, and he sure as hell didn't want to scare her off. He was pretty sure that was what he was most afraid of.

"Well I did have other plans for us, but if that's what you'd prefer...."

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)


[info]cecilias
2013-06-24 12:42 am UTC (link)
A peal of laughter escaped in the midst of another soft kiss at the nape of his neck. Playfully, she went a little further and gave him a tender nip as she freely allowed herself to be pulled in closer towards him, a hand meanwhile not-so-subtly sliding around his lower back where she turned the waistline of his pants deviously around in between thin fingers.

Cecilia was feeling unexplicably impish today, which made it difficult at his words to contain herself to just the light foreplay. It was rather rare that he planned to surprise her with some plans of his--he was, after all, not often the one of them who was home all day--and despite so wanting to just have her way with him then and there, the curiosity had to win out for the time being. Something told her that if it wasn't good, he probably wouldn't have brought it up in the first place at such a time.

"That's alright," she purred in his ear before relinquishing her hold on him, reluctantly pulling back so that it was only his hand she was holding now. "You'll still taste just as good in a few hours, I'm sure."

Yes, she thought, giving him a shameless once-over. In fact, with a little wait, he might be even better.

"Now tell me, what did you have in mind?"

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)


[info]winsome_wizard
2013-06-24 07:35 am UTC (link)
Cael was resisting the urge to just forget about dinner and postpone everything in order to take her right there in the kitchen; the only thing that stopped him was knowing that he would not be able to muster up enough courage to try and do this all over again. He had spent way too much time pacing in the back yard to start having doubts now, and he couldn't think of many other opportunities he might have where she'd be out long enough for him to get things accomplished. Besides, if he played on every urge he had when it came to Cecilia, he'd likely never get anything done.

When she took his hand, his fingers were quick to lace with hers, looking down at her when she pulled back enough for him to get a good look at her. She was absolutely beautiful - even when they woke up in the mornings and she thought she looked like hell because she didn't have a drop of makeup on, he found her stunning. Her looks weren't the only thing that he loved about her, of course, and while most people couldn't really figure out how someone like Cael Gray could possibly fall in love with a girl like Cecilia Hooke, it made perfect sense to him. He didn't think it was something that needed to be explained, though tonight he would make an attempt...

"C'mon, I'll show you."

He gestured towards the back door with a tilt of his head before tugging at the hand of hers he was holding, eventually guiding her into the back yard. Once they were outside, she'd be able to see the elegantly set table on their deck - there were candles placed on the table, and some were floating overhead for lighting; a bouquet of champagne and yellow colored roses placed in a vase at the center. Looking over his own work, he tried not to wonder what was going on in her head as she took everything in.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)


[info]cecilias
2013-06-24 08:31 am UTC (link)
Now he had piqued her curiosity, and thus it took little effort to get her to follow him through the house, back towards the yard area, Karma nipping at her feet the entire way.

Heels clicked on wood as they stepped out onto the deck, and she laughed, both surprise and joy filling her voice at the sight of the unexpected romantic scene. It wasn't that Cael wasn't romantic normally, but to set up an entire atmosphere, complete with dinner on the table... Well, she didn't think she knew one girl who wouldn't love their boyfriend to pull that out of thin air, but it seemed rather sudden, didn't it?

Nonetheless giving his hand a squeeze in approval, Cecilia flipped her head back over her shoulder to send him an elated grin, even as she silently worked through her own confusion.

"Don't tell me I've missed an anniversary," she played, meanwhile doing the math in her head and hoping to goodness that she hadn't. But nothing came to mind, so it couldn't be that.. Which meant he was just being romantic.

It seemed like an awful lot, though, for just being romantic...

Glancing down at her own casual sundress and heels, then back up at the candlelit table, she smirked. "I hardly believe that I'm dressed for a formal dinner occasion, Mister Gray."

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)


[info]winsome_wizard
2013-06-24 09:17 am UTC (link)
He was glad that she was pleasantly surprised, since he wasn't exactly sure what her reaction would be. He wasn't sure how she would be reacting to a lot of things that night, so as far as he was concerned, this was a pretty good start. She was curious, but she didn't really seem suspicious which was a relief - it was better if she didn't ask too many questions. The mention of an anniversary caused him to smirk a bit, his thumb affectionately brushing along the side of her hand. "You didn't miss anything," he assured her, looking back out to the table. When she mentioned her style of dress, Cael smiled down at her.

"You look perfect."

He kissed the side of her head to punctuate his statement, cherishing the scent of her hair - between her body wash, shampoo, and whatever perfume she decided to wear, he always loved how she always smelled like some sort of exotic flower, sweet fruit, or vanilla. Sometimes it was a combination of all three. He had grown so accustomed to waking up with her scent lingering on the pillows and sheets - it was intoxicating. Just another part of her he couldn't get enough of.

"Shall we?" He asked with brows raised, gesturing towards the table. He pulled out her seat for her, waiting for her to lower herself down into it before he went about serving up their food. He had made pasta bolognese with a side of warm, homemade bread - his mother had taught him how to cook when he was younger, though he rarely had an opportunity to make anything. He used to cook only for himself, and once Cecilia moved in with him, she took it upon herself to cook dinner most nights, since she was home and he was working. Still, he had to hope everything had turned out okay. He poured them both a glass of wine before he lifted his goblet to her.

"To us."

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)


[info]cecilias
2013-06-24 09:42 am UTC (link)
You look perfect. She had to laugh silently at that, because that was something that he would say. However, to the girl who had been taught that appearances were everything, being presented with a beautiful table of food complete with candles, flowers and moonlight meant that any proper lady should have been wearing a proper dress, some jewelry--for Merlin's sake, at least have showered before the event!

However, as soon as the thought came, it left. That was her mother speaking, of course. Despite how estranged they had become since Cecilia had walked out of her life in the bridal shop that day, she still found it impossible to keep the old harping socialite out of her head at times like this. It was always at the most annoying times that she could hear Eliza Hooke chirping directions in her ear, always in that mildly disapproving, endlessly critical, severely clipped tone that had driven Cecilia insane her entire life. Darling, where are your manners? Your curtsy could use some work. Cee, that is not how I taught you how to drink your tea. And while you're at it, you certainly could use a shawl over those bare shoulders of yours--I mean, it's rather obscene to show that much skin, isn't it? You don't want the Rosier boy to think you're easy, do you?

She shook her head as she took her place at the table, remembering in that moment just how lucky she was to have been given the kick to get rid of some of the people in her life. As scary as it had been to finally pull the plug on her old life, it was without a doubt that she was much freer for it now. She had been given the reign to take charge of her own existence, never wondering how anyone would feel about her choices. That was a freedom Cael Gray had given her, and had it been anyone else, Cecilia wasn't entirely sure that she would have been sitting across from them at that very moment. Without his encouragement and boundless patience, she might have been living in Paris at that very moment, stuck in some loveless marriage and hating herself all the more.

To that, certainly, she could toast.

"To us," she agreed sincerely. Cecilia managed to be content with just a sip of wine--another major personality change which had come about sometime during her time with Cael--and set it down on the table before fixing him with a curious glance.

"But really, what's up? This is wonderful and all, but it doesn't seem like something to throw together on a whim..." she ventured.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)


[info]winsome_wizard
2013-07-04 12:38 pm UTC (link)
Once their glasses clinked together, Cael also took a sip of his wine - granted it was a much larger sip, since he felt he needed it, but he didn't want to make her too suspicious. She was already starting to ask questions, but instead of humoring her with an answer, he just gave her a smirk.

"Are you saying I need a reason to dote on my beautiful girlfriend?"

It wasn't that spoiling her was anything new, but this definitely was out of character for him. He rolled his lips under and leaned forward towards her.

"I'll answer whatever questions you might have after dinner."

He thought that seemed fair enough, since he didn't think she would have many questions to ask once they were done eating, and he was getting on with what he had planned for her. He speared some of his pasta with his fork and took a bite, hoping that she would take her time so that he could work through what he was going to say to her. He had rehearsed it a million times in his head, but he knew it wasn't going to turn out like he hoped it would - he'd probably just jumble together a few words to get his point across. He sipped at more wine, the mere thought of it all making his stomach do uncomfortable flips.

Once they were both finished with their food, Cael stood to his feet and held his hand out towards her, helping her stand before he guided her futher into the yard. He had acres of land, so they had some time to roam...and he had some time to stall.

"So, did you enjoy dinner?"

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)


[info]cecilias
2013-07-06 11:15 am UTC (link)
Stifling her further questions throughout dinner proved to be a much more difficult proposition than Cecilia had expected. She ate her pasta and drank her wine in relative silence for the simple reason that she could think of few things that she wanted to ask besides what in heaven's name was going on. Of course the fact that he had said that she would find out after dinner didn't help at all, because that quite literally told her that something was in fact happening, which was in some ways worse on her curiosity than simply wondering if he was just acting oddly for no reason at all.

When he finally stood up and offered her his hand, Cecilia did her best to not stand up too quickly to follow him out onto the yard.

She enjoyed this, don't get her wrong. It was nice to have a quiet, romantic evening this way, and to just stroll peacefully with her very handsome boyfriend under the trees of his vast property. That was, when she didn't get the feeling that he was trying to hold off on her surprise.

"It was wonderful," she answered him. That was an honest opinion--even admidst her mind's constant working at all possible scenarios of what was to come after the meal, she had noticed that Cael was an unexpectedly accomplished chef. "Maybe from now on you should be the one cooking around here."

As if. Cooking, however badly, was one of the only things she could do to prove her worth around this place. That and sex, anyway.

As they continued to walk along, their everyday conversation began to run thin, and Cecilia found herself growing helplessly impatient, hopelessly quickly. Just like at dinner, she unwillingly grew more and more silent the further they walked, just to stop herself from asking him one more time.

But seriously, how long was this going to take?

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)


[info]winsome_wizard
2013-07-07 01:14 am UTC (link)
Cael offered her a smirk when she answered his question, his hand still holding onto hers. She was the only one of the two of them who thought she had to prove her worth at all - he had always thought that she made dinner for him each night because she was so bored just sitting around at home with nothing else to do. He would have gone crazy, if he were in that position, but she didn't know how to work. The concept had been so bizarre to him at first, but after a while he had just come to terms with the fact that Cecilia Hooke had planned on living a life of leisure. Had she gotten with any of the suitors her parents would have set her up with, she wouldn't have had need to work a day in her life. Instead she'd be used for breeding more pureblooded children.

It was strange to think that at some point in her life, that was what she had wanted.

He kept walking, leading her over to the gazebo that he had strung some lights onto with a simple spell. Once they were inside, he sat down and pulled her to sit down beside him. He was suddenly wishing he had taken his glass of wine with him from the table. He rolled his lips under as he looked over at her.

"I know this all seems really out of the blue," he admitted with a sheepish smirk, lifting his free and to scratch at the back of his neck. "I didn't mean for it to be so cryptic. I just really wanted to do something nice for you." Okay, so that really wasn't what this was all about, but he was trying to work on getting there. He shifted so that he was facing her a bit more.

"Cecilia..." he began, though his mouth started to feel like it was getting dry again. "You know I love you, right?" He hoped it would be nothing more than a rhetorical question, but he didn't know how else he was supposed to start. "I try and say it enough so that you don't ever have to doubt it, but I don't really think you get how much I mean it. Over these last couple of years, I've fallen madly, deeply in love with you... You're beautiful, and strong - a hell of a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for. You're smart, and you're funny - though sometimes I think the latter happens purely on accident," he said with a smile, his hand squeezing hers before he looked away from her for a moment, gathering his thoughts before his eyes were back on hers.

"What I'm trying to say is that I can't imagine going to bed or waking up without you next to me... I look forward to coming home every day just because I know you'll be here. I've never felt this way about anyone before...and I don't think I'm ever going to." This was the point of no return. He had already said too much, he had already made himself way too vulnerable. He had to do this now. He reached into his pocket to produce the box he had been carrying around with him, looking up to see her expression before he continued on. He couldn't read it, and he felt his heart pounding in his chest.

"You're the girl I want to spend the rest of my life with, Cecilia Hooke...so I need to ask you," he opened the box, exposing the ring that he had picked out for her.

"Will you marry me?"

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)


[info]cecilias
2013-07-07 10:56 pm UTC (link)
As they made their approach towards the beautifully adorned gazebo, awash in the lights that Cecilia could only assume that Cael had put there himself, she felt herself begin to now get properly excited. Whatever this was all about, it was finally close, and she could feel it. Not just because she could sense the tensing of his muscles every now and again from their entwined arms.

That said, for the life of her, she couldn't begin to imagine what it was that would have him so nervous.

She followed him curiously into the lit area and allowed herself to be seated, tilting her head just slightly at his rhetorical question. Of course she knew he loved her, although even so long after his first confession she yet had a difficult time getting used to how easy he seemingly found it to tell her such a thing. Then again, after years spent being companion to one as emotionally shut-off as Evan had been, any verbal confirmation of such a strong word came as a surprise.

Nonetheless, it was nice, and as Cecilia listened to Cael's little speech, she found herself comfortably taking it in, marveling as she often did in his openness and how nice it was to hear him put across such emotions with so little hesitation. She was so lost in his words that she nearly wasn't listening to their specific meaning at all, rather taking in the overarching sentiments. That was why, she imagined, it was such a shock the moment he pulled out a box and her eyes were brought to rest upon a very sparkly, very important piece of jewelry.

Her mouth ungracefully and uncontrollably opened, a side-effect of the sudden racing of her heart, and she had a difficult time forcing herself to look up and focus on what he was saying. Because---for a woman who had nearly been married, or assumed to eventually be married now almost three times, she knew what that ring meant. However, if she was wrong, she would look like a terrible fool for it, and--

Oh, what was she thinking? There was absolutely no other explanation for this, and so the all-important question had barely left his mouth before she gasped in a deep breath with which to expel a thilled, stunned, wonderous, fairly loud affirmation. Cecilia's arms had gone around him in the same instant, perhaps squeezing the life out of this ridiculous man who sat in front of her now, putting his heart out to her in a way that no other man had before. And in a way she was certain no other man would have, now or in the past.

"What are you saying!?" she finally breathed out, surprised she could even speak at all. "Of course I will, you idiot!"

(Reply to this)(Parent)




scribbld is part of the horse.13 network
Design by Jimmy B.
Logo created by hitsuzen.
Scribbld System Status