uptowngirl | [IC] Inbox @ tanagura

I'd say come down here and take up this spot on the step right in front me - it comes with a warm back rest - but... well. [It was what it was.]

So, do I need to explain what Christmas is or am I lucking out here?

That is very tempting, I won't lie.

[ The smile is audible in her voice. Asami leans back on the couch, eyes still cast towards the window. ]

I definitely wouldn't mind the backstory, but I'm flattered that you'd invite me on something that sounds so important to you. I'd be happy to go.

[It was a shame digital skins that change hair color to the opposite cast were illegal... but Mary wouldn't be happy seeing Asami with mongrel hair. She likes the dark hair too much.

But she flopped back to recline on the steps, taking a drag, with a grin at the moons. Asami was coming to Christmas dinner. SUCCESS.]

Thank you. It'll be small, people we can trust, so we don't have to play hands off. You'll get to meet my sister [as Mary doesn't know the two of them already have]... and the two Methuselah that are here. [There was a slight shift in her voice then, but even Mary had to admit that Ion and Shahra were okay... for vampires.]

But Christmas is one of the most important holidays in my faith. It's the celebration of the birth of the Lord's only Son, Jesus Christ. You see, there was a time when God was vengeful and angry. He created humans but He also gave us Free Will, so some of our choices didn't make sense. So, to understand us, He sent His Son to live among the people. Christ learned and taught, and dies for our Sins. And because of Him, as long as we ask the Lord for forgiveness, we will be welcomed into Heaven upon our deaths, our souls saved and not damned for eternity in Hell.

Well, that's a soldier's version. Esther is part of the Church, so she can explain it more in depth than I can. But, I'm pretty sure that explains why Christmas is important. It's a holiday that we spend with family, friends and those dear to us.

[ She listened quietly as Mary explains the gathering, although therewas definitely a term she has only just learned recently that stands out from the rest. ]

Methuselah? [ It's not the easiest to say for an unpracticed tongue, but she managed it enough to indicate it wasn't the first time she's said it. ] That's interesting, I just met someone the other week who called himself that.

[ Of course the term "vampire" was just as foreign to her, but she'd learned fairly quickly that the two should not be used interchangeably. ]

I forgot to tell you--I think I've met your sister, too. Esther, right? Same hair?

[ She had been a sweet girl, though Asami had definitely been under the influence of something that night. She remembered the encounter through a bit of a haze, but Asami had been in control of herself enough to the point not to cross that line with Mary's younger sister. She respected and liked the woman too much for that.

Asami closed her eyes as she listened to the story, trying to imagine the picture that Mary painted. She had never been very spiritual in her own right, and dealing with actual spirits had only been a recent development. It was interesting to hear what others believed, though. When Mary finishes, she opens her eyes again and straightens.

She wasn't not entirely sure she understood it, but...it sounds like it's essentially a birthday celebration for a God? A demigod? Maybe she'll understand it better when the time comes. ]

Well, any reason to spend time with your friends has to be a good one.

[Himself?] Oh, you must have met the Count of Memphis, Ion Fortuna. My sister and I share an apartment in Lhassa with him.

[If only because it was economical and Mary wasn't going to let Esther live ALONE with a vampire. Especially not one that had the world's biggest crush on her.]

And you're right - Esther Blanchett is her name. Her hair's a little darker, more auburn than mine; she bears an even stronger resemblance to the Queen than I do.

[...shit. Maybe Asami wouldn't pick up the implications of that slip.]

Oh my gosh, I had no idea.

[ Well, she felt a little silly hearing that. Of course it would never be easy to pinpoint who was from what world and when, but Asami had arguably learned the most about Mary's world. She felt that she should have had some inclination...

But that is hardly the biggest surprise--

...did she hear that right? ]

...I'm sorry, did you say the Queen?

[Damnit. She should've known Asami wouldn't miss that. The woman was too smart.]

Yes... Yes, I did.

[Mary sighed and finished off her cigarette, flicking the butt away in irritation at herself. She got comfortable with someone, and she let her guard down too much. And now she had a potential mess to clean up.]

[ She hadn't misheard. But...then the implication was something a little more than she had ever anticipated. It made Mary's comment at her birthday--royalty--make a lot more sense. ]

Then...you're related to your Queen?

[Mary contemplated lying about that, but decided against it. Again, Asami was too smart and the idea of lying to her bothered Mary.]

...she's my grandmother.

[ Asami's eyes widened, even though Mary couldn't see.

Did she feel a little sheepish? Yes. She'd had no idea just who she'd been running around with...and while status in and of itself didn't color her decisions or attractions to people, it certainly did make her wonder if she'd done anything uncouth. ]

...A colonel and a princess? That's quite the resume.

[And likewise Asami wouldn't see the flash of dark anger in her eyes at that. At least that anger wasn't directed at Asami.]

My sister's the princess; I have no claim to that title. [There was a tinge of bitterness in her voice.]

[ Oh geez--she probably shouldn't have jumped to that conclusion, should she have? Mary hadn't mentioned it and likely for a good reason. ]

I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed...

No, it's okay, Asami. It's just... I'm illegitimate. Esther and I only share a father, and we only recently learned we were related.

[She sighed and lit up another cigarette.]

I am and I'm not princess. Because of the nature of my birth, I have no birthright other than that of Viscountess passed to me through my mother after her death. So I can't claim it, and I've spent my entire military career to get recognition from the Queen as being her blood. And all I've ever been to her is a soldier and a reminder that my mother had relations with the Crown Prince before he chose to marry.

I told you that my career stalled for a couple years. That would be why. [There was such a stigma upon her because she was a bastard child.] I'm very used to the kind of treatment I face here on Amoi. I don't want you treating me any different.

[ Illegitimate...it's a concept that isn't foreign to her and usually more important to those who hold some class or status, which Mary obviously did. So Asami listened quietly, respectfully. ]

Treating you any different? The way "mongrels" are treated here isn't fair at all, regardless of what they started out as back home. I'd rather treat you like a person.

You do treat me like a person. But you now know my lineage. [Which was her own damn fault.] I don't want to be treated like a princess. Enough is changing back in Albion with the succession in question. [And Mary would either be Queen... or dead. She was pretty sure nothing could stop her.]

I just don't want it to change anything with you.

I'll admit I'm curious, but I won't ask if you don't want me to.

[ Asami shook her head before she realized it was pointless to do so, given that Mary couldn't see her. ]

I can't pretend I don't know now, but it won't change our relationship. I promise.

I'm not asking you to forget, luv. And I'm really, really happy that our tremendously scandalous relationship isn't changing. [It was far more scandalous to Mary than it was to Asami, but that's just the difference in their cultures.]

There's nothing wrong with your curiosity. You can ask me questions... Some I will answer, some I won't. The succession is a giant mess right now with the Queen's rapidly failing health. And here there's little I can do about it. I do have a request... please don't bring any of this up with my sister. It's complicated and she doesn't know the storms in Albion. I'd rather not worry her needlessly.

[ Asami gave an amused huff at that. ]

I really enjoy spending time with you. I wouldn't want to lose that.

[ And she meant it, too. There was a not too small fear that Mary might up and disappear like a few of the other friends she'd made since arriving, but she realized that it was probably best to try and spend time with her while she could. ]

I won't say a word. Engineer's honor.

[ There was a light-heartedness at the end of that statement, an attempt to put Mary at easy about all of this. ]

How did you find out? Have you always known you were related to the Queen?

[It did put her a bit at ease. Mary had no reason to believe Asami would go running to Esther about things. And there was a lot regarding the succession that Mary simply didn't want her sister to ask about. There were many things Esther didn't know about, couldn't know about and Mary wouldn't let her know about if she had her say. She didn't like lying to her sister.]

Thank you. And I've always known. My mother was a lover of Crown Prince Gilbert before he married; I never really spent time with him only getting to see him from a distance just like everyone else. By the time I was old enough to grasp the things I heard whispered around my mother and myself, he had wed Victoria.

He was assassinated when I was seven in the White Rebellion... my mother killed herself when I was eight.

I see...

[ Or rather, she was beginning to understand a little more about Mary. They hadn't really shared much about their families, perhaps in part because it's never come up before. Other than knowing that she had a younger sister named Esther, Asami had no idea. ]

I'm sorry to hear that. That must have been difficult for both you and your sister.

...Esther doesn't remember her parents at all. To protect her, they smuggled her out of Albion, having switched her with a stillborn. Everyone thought the child died. So Esther spent her whole life practically on the other side of the inhabitable world.

...she didn't even know we were related until I accidentally let it slip. I'd only found out, myself, just ending up here. So having a sister is a very new thing for us both.

[Mary sighed.] But it was hard. My mother, at least. My father was just someone that had always been out of reach. I suppose you can see why I just don't talk about them. As far as I'm concerned, Esther is my only family.

[ Ah...so it was even more complicated than she thought. Asami sighed as well, taking a quiet moment to think. ]

So having her here--...that's both a good and bad thing, huh?

[Complicated doesn't even begin to describe it. But Mary's voice perked up.]

Actually, circumstances aside, I'm very glad that she's here. [For so many reasons.] Back in Albion, with everything going on, she and I wouldn't be getting to spend any time together. Here we get to be sisters. Just sisters. It's nice.

[There was no mistaking the affection in Mary's voice.] I just wish I could protect her better here. She, ah, gets a little irritated about it.

[Like anyone when they have an overprotective older sibling.]

[ That made sense. It was time that they might not have had back home. She hadn't considered it that way. ]

So it's given you time to get to know each other better? That's good.

[ But that last part...Asami exhales quietly through her nose, but it's audible. ]

It's...definitely an interesting set of circumstances for family, I'd imagine.

It is... but I'm not sure I'd trade it for anything. [Her men would hold Londinium. Mary had faith in that.]

So, does this mean I get the Sato Family story someday? [It was said lightly but then she got more serious.] Whenever you want to, luv. It's not anything I need to know.

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