08-21-2025, 06:08 PM
“Open offer, whenever she might need it. Kind of selfish on my part, really. It’ll take years to renovate the whole estate. I’d be happy for the help.”
Natalie was glad to let the quiet edge to her own mood dissipate without prodding her own feelings too deeply, and Emily seemed lighter for having the opportunity to voice her fears. She made a mental note to check in some time later though. Not that Emily didn’t already have a supportive network around her, but she was also the glue of the Shale family. Unlike Emily, Natalie was the reckless middle child, not the responsible eldest, but she knew something of how fragile a burden it could be – being the one others looked to.
“Deal,” she said, to the future cocktails, and smirked with a little glimmer of devilishness.
The food arrived then. Natalie hadn’t realised she was hungry until the plate was laid before her, and she tried to recall if she’d remembered breakfast that morning. Jay was an early riser, they both were, but he was a mouth full of toast and slurp of coffee blur out the door. Natalie only kept to the routine of returning to the apartment because he was there, and she didn’t choose to spend much time inside its sterile walls when she was alone. So, probably not.
“Essentially,” she agreed as the topic shifted. Belizna was primarily business, and she had never mixed that with Emily’s friendship beyond them talking about what they were both up to when they got the chance. “Or it will be. The Custody is hardly pulling its weight in that respect.” She half raised her brows, aware it was somewhat controversial for a Patron’s granddaughter to speak so flippantly about the governmental systems that gave her family power. Of course, there were reasons for that. But she could hardly tell Emily everything she had seen in Texas – the sanctioned experiments on children which subdued and controlled their gift. Witnessed right before the State was ushered in as the newest Dominance.
“I think I’ll be able to open the doors in the new year. Teaching girls through the Sickness, to start.”
It would be more than that, of course. A consortium. A sanctuary. A voice. Not just for the girls, but for the women who would teach them. But it needed careful framing, lest it be tarnished a rebellion before its roots grew deep enough to withstand opposition. Despite working briefly with Marcus DuBois, and having been offered a position in the Consulate, she had not approached any official channels to ask permission, or avail of their resources. Instead, in the elite social circles Natalie had begun engendering support, she chose to lean heavily on her mother’s philanthropic reputation. Most already knew the Northbrook’s blacksheep daughter had self-exiled to aid work in Africa. They built their own picture of her intentions from there.
Natalie was glad to let the quiet edge to her own mood dissipate without prodding her own feelings too deeply, and Emily seemed lighter for having the opportunity to voice her fears. She made a mental note to check in some time later though. Not that Emily didn’t already have a supportive network around her, but she was also the glue of the Shale family. Unlike Emily, Natalie was the reckless middle child, not the responsible eldest, but she knew something of how fragile a burden it could be – being the one others looked to.
“Deal,” she said, to the future cocktails, and smirked with a little glimmer of devilishness.
The food arrived then. Natalie hadn’t realised she was hungry until the plate was laid before her, and she tried to recall if she’d remembered breakfast that morning. Jay was an early riser, they both were, but he was a mouth full of toast and slurp of coffee blur out the door. Natalie only kept to the routine of returning to the apartment because he was there, and she didn’t choose to spend much time inside its sterile walls when she was alone. So, probably not.
“Essentially,” she agreed as the topic shifted. Belizna was primarily business, and she had never mixed that with Emily’s friendship beyond them talking about what they were both up to when they got the chance. “Or it will be. The Custody is hardly pulling its weight in that respect.” She half raised her brows, aware it was somewhat controversial for a Patron’s granddaughter to speak so flippantly about the governmental systems that gave her family power. Of course, there were reasons for that. But she could hardly tell Emily everything she had seen in Texas – the sanctioned experiments on children which subdued and controlled their gift. Witnessed right before the State was ushered in as the newest Dominance.
“I think I’ll be able to open the doors in the new year. Teaching girls through the Sickness, to start.”
It would be more than that, of course. A consortium. A sanctuary. A voice. Not just for the girls, but for the women who would teach them. But it needed careful framing, lest it be tarnished a rebellion before its roots grew deep enough to withstand opposition. Despite working briefly with Marcus DuBois, and having been offered a position in the Consulate, she had not approached any official channels to ask permission, or avail of their resources. Instead, in the elite social circles Natalie had begun engendering support, she chose to lean heavily on her mother’s philanthropic reputation. Most already knew the Northbrook’s blacksheep daughter had self-exiled to aid work in Africa. They built their own picture of her intentions from there.