Henri and Ariane

"Test myself out at a party?" he asked, smiling at the suggestion. "Sounds like a fun game." Henri was always one for games like this.The thought of fooling nobles sounded very entertaining to him. Though it would only be if he was able to pull it off. It couldn't possibly be that difficult though, could it? But then again, Ariane said it was bone-crushingly dull. Henri couldn't imagine anything more painful than that.

Henri cringed at the thought of potentially having to wear something fancy. He secretly hoped to himself that whatever Ariane's cousin wore didn't have a lot of those uncomfortable looking frills he saw a lot of nobles sport. He had always preferred simple clothes. Even the most formal outfit he possessed was quite simple.

As they walked along the trail that led to her home, Henri looked up at her mansion as they neared it. He was still pretty amazed at the size of it. "So, we're sneaking in, right?" he asked. "Shall we walk in through the backdoor? Or do I need to climb into your cousins room through a window to avoid being seen." He took a look at the side of the house to see how he would go about doing that in the first place. It looked manageable.

After a short pause, he turned to her with a smile and made a suggestion. "Shall we race? You'd have to tell me which window leads to your cousin's room first though."

"Let's just go the way we went last time," Ariane replied, walking along as if they weren't up to anything suspicious. From far away, people perhaps thought that he was just some lowly servant, accompanying her on her walk. Nobody was close enough to see that he was dressed like a thief.

However, when he suggested a race, she stopped in her tracks. She raised an eyebrow and a frown tugged at her lips. "A race? I'm about to teach you how to act proper, and you ask a lady to run? In broad daylight?" If somebody saw her, it wouldn't just cause a small scandal of its own, as it would draw attention to her and Henri, but it would also be completely embarrassing. But then again, Henri probably didn't know that. She would forgive him for asking, this one time.

Henri stopped when Ariane stopped in her tracks. He was a little surprised to hear that running wasn't proper. If women didn't run, he wondered how would they ever got anywhere fast enough. The proper conduct for the people in Hearts was already beginning to confuse him just like those vases.

"Alright then," he shrugged as she rejected his suggestion. "We'll enter the back way." Either way, he had already gotten an idea of how he would go about climbing the walls of her mansion after taking a quick and careful look.

Once they reached her house, he waited to let Ariane lead the way in. He still remembered the layout of her house, or the part that he had been in and seen last time. The mansion was so big he wasn't even sure if he'd ever see all of it.

Ariane entered her house and led Henri through the quickest route to her cousin's room. She tip toed as quietly as she could, and made sure no maids or servants were about.

She walked a bit closer to him to whisper, "I would explain the house to you now, but you're too conspicuous. After you change, I'll give you a complete tour of the house." She bumped into him awkwardly by accident and looked down at their feet in surprise. "And... I suppose I'll teach you how to walk as well."

Henri followed Ariane closely, but still managed to steal glances at the house as they walked. His steps were quiet, a habit he had developed so that his presence could go unnoticed if he was ever tailing someone to steal from them.

"I'm too conspicuous?" he laughed quietly. He was about to ask her what kind of relationship they would try to pass themselves off as once he had finished changing. He looked down at her when she bumped into him. "Teach me how to walk?" Henri was confused about this. He thought he walked just fine. "What's wrong with my walking?" he asked in a lowered voice as to not make too much noise.

"A lot of things," she huffed as the started up one of the staircases to the guest bedroom section of the house. She eyed Henri's steps as he walked. He had a confident way of walking that made her think of some of the heroes in the stories she had read about Spades. He was rather long limbs, and so it was probably hard for him to control his them to be as robotically graceful as men were supposed to walk in Hearts. "Your posture isn't right, for one. And you tend to sway the wrong way. It's hard the explain." She wondered if Henri was the type to learn better from watching other people or from explanation. She hoped it was the former.

They reached her cousin's empty bedroom. The door was quite ornate, and she turned the heavy doorknob. It gave a slight squeak and the oak door swung in silently. At the corner was a large and fancy wardrobe. "Here we are." She opened the drawers and started digging through it, placing some possible dressing options on the bed. "Take a look, and choose whatever you think will suit you best."

Some of them were quite ruffly, and she added them to the pile as a joke, wanting to see what Henri's reaction would be towards such uselessly decorated clothing.

I wasn't really aware that there was a right and wrong way to walk.. Henri thought curiously. As they continued to walk, he tried to pay attention to the way he walked, but it still seemed fine to him. "Well, you'll just have to show me what you mean then," he grinned.

When they reached the door to her cousins room, Henri was surprised to see how fancy it looked. He was busy observing the intricate design on the door as Ariane opened it, and continued to look at it as he walked into the room.

As she started to put the clothing on the bed, Henri walked over and looked at some of the things she had chosen. The first few looked alright, though the material looked very durable to him. He was about to pick one up when she tossed a really ruffly shirt onto the bed, and his jaw dropped. It had more ruffles than Ariane's dress did! He picked it up and held it in front of him with both hands, looking at it with wide eyes. "People wear this?" he said under his breath, more to himself than to Ariane. After staring at it, wondering how on earth someone could wear that for extended periods or time, he shook his head and placed it back on the bed, somewhat tossed the ones that had a lot of ruffles on them aside.

He ended up settling on a pair of pants that were similar to the ones he was already wearing, though the quality of them was obviously much better than his, and a formal white shirt with a vest and cravat.

Ariane watched Henri stare at the dress with an expression of utter bewilderment. She could hardly suppress her laugh, cover her mouth with her hand and giggling to herself and his comment. She tried picturing Henri wearing the outfit, and this time, she had to turn away or else she would actually burst out in laughter.

Once he seemed to have made his choice, she gathered the clothes and turned around to face the wardrobe. Clearing her throat with a hint of nervousness, since she'd never been in this sort of situation before, she said, "Put them on then. Don't worry, I'll have my back turned. Just tell me when you are finished."

She started putting the clothes back into the wardrobe, folding them neatly like they were when she took them out. She heard the slight sound of Henri moving behind her and had more trouble than she would have liked keeping her imagination in check. Don't be silly, Ariane, he's a skinny thief from Spades, probably nothing worth looking at anyway. Not that I would want to look.

...But this is a unique opportunity, right? She turned her head a third of the way before stopping herself. Ariane! Have some decency! You're not like those other girls who chitter on about men until their breasts start to sag! ... My my, I am very glad nobody can hear my thoughts right now. Hmm... pants drawer, let's put these back here... My cousin sure likes lace.

Hearing Ariane clear her throat took Henri out of his thoughts about the ruffly clothing that he had rejected. He was surprised that she was going to stay in the room while he changed, but since she didn't seem to mind he didn't want to say anything further. He turned his back to her while she began to put the clothes away so that he would feel less self conscious about changing with her in the room.

Trying to change quickly, he exchanged his pants and then removed his shirt. He had to take a look at the borrowed shirt for a minute in order to figure out which side was the front and which was the back. Henri put that on too and buttoned it up, lastly putting the vest on. Ariane's cousin's clothes felt a lot lighter than the clothes Henri was used to wearing.

"Alright," he said as he picked up the cravat. "I'm done changing now." He fumbled with it for a moment as he tried to remember how to put one on properly.

Ariane finished putting the clothes away before Henri finished changing, so she waited until he said he was finished. She turned around, and saw him standing there in his new clothes awkwardly, holding the cravat. To her surprise, it looked like he could fit in. Well... eventually, if she put work into it. "You look good! The clothes look handsome on you," she smiled, as it was customary to smile whilst complimenting.

She saw him fumble with the cravat for a few seconds, until she finally realized that he pretty much didnt know what he was doing. Oh, really? Well, I guess I shouldn't expect him to know how to wear one. Sighing, she walked over. Must she do everything? "Let me help you with it," she said, snatching it out of his hand. She maintained her distance from him but stood close enough so that her arms were relaxed and not awkwardly stretched out, as if dealing with something poisonous. She tied the cravat expertly, and made a big fuss about getting it just right. When she finished, she patted him on the shoulder. "There! You're clothed like a rich man now."

Henri found himself returning her smile, not because she complimented him, but because he thought her smile was captivating.

He felt a little embarrassed that he didn't know how to tie the cravat. His mother had tried to teach him numerous times, but he just never remembered. Letting her take it from him, he stood still while she tied it. Several times he thought she finished and nearly moved but stopped when she continued to fuss about tying it perfectly. While she was busy concentrating on fixing the cravat, he took the opportunity to look at her while she was close, making sure that she didn't notice him doing it. Ariane was beautiful.

When she finished, he was tempted to loosen the cravat to make it slightly more comfortable, but he stopped himself. "I'm dressed like a rich man, but you'll have to teach me to act like one," he laughed. Taking a look over at his clothes he had discarded on the bed, he turned back to Ariane. "Should I just leave them there, or should we hide them?" Henri eyed his sword and the belts that he usually wore with him everywhere. He felt a little unprotected without them, but figured he wouldn't be able to wear them with him if he were to try to learn to be a noble.

Ariane had almost forgotten about Henri's old clothes. "Oh! We can't leave them here, in case the maids aren't done cleaning yet. I'll place them in a bag and bring them to my room--they're not allowed in there without permission."

She had the feeling that Henri was, for whatever reason, very close to his garments. The swords interested her a lot, and she decided that after this was all over and it was time for him to revert back to the thief-looking Henri, she'd ask him about them. Maybe he'd let her wield one. Another lesson for another day, perhaps?

She placed Henri's clothes into a bag and peered through the eyeglass to make sure nobody was in the hallway to see them both emerge from the room. She sneaked out and motioned for Henri to hurry along with her, and started walking towards her room. "This way, and try to walk more gentlemanly. As gentlemanly as you can imagine."

Henri nodded in agreement. Even if the maids didn't find his clothes being in the room suspicious, they would definitely think something was up if they saw his swords. He was still feeling a little uncomfortable without them, but he would get used to it.

He stayed close to Ariane as she peered through the door to see if there was anyone there. When she moved, he followed her quickly. "More gentlemanly?" Henri tried to imagine the way a noble would walk, and frowned a bit. He straightened up his posture a little bit more, though it felt uncomfortable and forced. "Is that better?" he asked, still pretty much walking the same way he was before, only with his head held a little higher.

"Hm?" Ariane turned to study his stride. His posture had improved significantly, but there was something in the way he swung his legs when he walked. "Yes, that's actually a lot better. Maybe... Straighten out your legs a bit more, and don't sway at all." She was rather impressed at his fast, instinctive learning, and was excited to get to the parts where he had to act and speak.

She reached her room and opened the door. Everything in her room was spotless and neat, and she quickly made her way over to the closet. Dumping his things inside, she closed the door. "Don't let your eyes wander too far in a lady's room," she chastised, albeit a bit playfully.

Listening to her observations, he tried to walk a bit more stiffly. He made a strange face as he did this, trying to concentrate on not swaying like Ariane suggested. He didn't realize he swayed when he walked before.

When they got to her room, Henri looked about it the same way he looked around her cousins room. He stopped himself when she playfully chastised him, looking a bit sheepish as he chuckled. "I'm sorry, your house is just so interesting, I couldn't help it."