Jeremy frowned as he admired Annie's nervous habits. She'd bitten her lip hard enough to draw blood, and anything resulting in pain or a lack comfort was the last thing he wished to happen. "I'd be honored," he joked, putting his elbow out in a manner suited to escort her. Sure he'd been a carnie for as long as he could remember, but he was hardly raised in a barn - the big top was a step up at minimum. He waited a moment to see what Anastasiya decided to do, then began walking away from the residential district of the island. Everything was shiny and new, but the air of the island felt sad. He knew that the upgrade was result of prior devastation, and those that remained or volunteered helped to get the remaining islanders back on their feet.
Walking at a nice pace for the pair, Jeremy slowed as they entered an area with a small cafe and bakery. "After you," he prodded to Annie, after walking to the door and holding it ajar. A small, local shop like this was bound to have something good to eat. Though, Jeremy would have eaten anything to avoid witnessing another love-struck moment between Scarlett and his brother. Nonetheless, he wished the best for the two of them. For now, he'd focus on getting to know Anastasiya.
Post by Anastasiya Astrophel on Apr 20, 2016 18:55:56 GMT -5
Annie's face lit up with a smile as Jeremy spoke, deciding to play along she curtseyed with her imaginary dress skirts, "Why thank you kind sir." She then hid her face to the side in her hair as a gesture of modesty then placed one hand gently on his forearm and the other on his elbow like any proper princess would do, "Am I so lucky to have the brave Sir Jeremy of the Midnight Facade escort me on a court to lunch?" Chuckling to herself at the playful gesture and formalities Anastasia couldn't help but be taken back to long nights spent being courted at each ball, hundreds of parties and strange boys attempting to win her over for a chance at the crown. Now over a hundred years later so much had changed yet there still remained some similarities. She wondered how a simple carnie such as Jeremy could be so interested in the likes of her, seeing she was an allegedly dead hundred year old Romanov princess.
But here she was walking with someone her parents would never approve of into the town center practically doting on his every move. The Romanov's married for status, for bloodline, but look where it had gotten them... Frowning to herself Annie didn't like to talk lowly of her family, but when it came to the politics she had never cared much for them. Over the years she had grown tired of the formalities of courting, yet in this moment she was thankful for the commonness of it all. She had nothing special to offer this man no crown no riches, at least none that she cared to claim, and somehow he still held interest in her. Finally they approached a quaint local cafe, new to the island but clearly a town favorite by the looks of the crowd that was beginning to die down. They seemed to have just missed the lunch rush as a table became available near a window in the front of the restaurant.
Anastaysia pulled a chair out and reached for a small menu of daily specials offering various soups and sandwiches of the day. Tapping a finger on her chin she scanned the menu before deciding on a small half sandwich and soup. Since her days as a princess, Annie didn't care much for the finery, growing into a free soul that enjoyed doing what she pleased without the firm schedule of a busy princess. Her new life afforded her with the simplicity she had always wished for, if not more now that she had found her way into Jeremy's path. Placing the menu flat against the table, she rested her chin on her open palms and smiled across the table at Jeremy, "What's your favorite place you've ever been to and why?" She tilted her head and let out a chuckle as she wasn't really sure of the answer to her own question, but waited patiently for his answer.
"My favorite place?" Jeremy repeated, crossing his arms over his chest while leaning back in his chair. He thought about his answer for a moment, as there were so many interesting destinations he'd been too throughout his time as a Carnie. Germany, Russia, China, even Canada, once - not a big turnover there, though.
Watching her smile, Jer studied Annie. The Russian princess, long thought dead along with her family, sat just across from him. That had to make her at least 4 times his age, yet she didn't look as if she'd aged a day. She was absolutely gorgeous, and Jeremy couldn't help but stare and lose his train of thought.
"My favorite place.." he repeated once more, leaning forward. "France," he decided, "Because it helped begin a new chapter for us all." It was partly a solemn answer, and partly happy. He'd lost his brother, but had gained a new companion in Annie. Smiling, he turned the question back to her. "Now, what about you? Surely, you must have some fond memories, or maybe a dreamer's dream?" He wasn't quite sure how her ability worked, but perhaps the question could reveal some information about her.
Post by Anastasiya Astrophel on Apr 26, 2016 19:14:02 GMT -5
Jeremy's answer brought a bashful smile to her cheeks, regardless if he had meant any implications towards meeting her there or not a girl could dream. However the question relayed back to her brought her into a deep thought. She couldn't really narrow down a favorite place, despite her traveling all her years anytime spent outside of the sleeping minds of her traveling hosts had been brief. "Well... that's a hard question to answer. For the longest time I jumped into peoples dreams one after the other. Anything to get me as far away from Russia as possible. Even then I had to make sure no one would recognize me."
Her first few years of time hopping had been the most difficult, often manipulating dreams to reflect her deceased family, but the further she made her way from Russia the more discrete she had to be. "Once I found myself out of Russia.. I found the a sweet swiss girl. She had to have been about 6 or 7 at the time and I was maybe 16. Her family was poor, bakers I believe.." this was a distant memory so many years ago some of the details had begun to fade, "...but they took me in, let me stay with them and fed me for a while." As she dug deeper for the memory she began to chuckle, a warm smile spreading from her lips, "You should have seen her Jeremy, she truly thought she was a princess of her own little world. The night I left them I skipped from each of their minds so that I was merely a figment of their dreams, but the girl... She had awoken from a nightmare. I sat with her for hours telling her stories from my childhood without really giving away who I was. When she finally fell asleep my stories became her dreams, but through her eyes they were spectacular. I made her a princess."
However as quickly as the smile had formed it began to fade, "They found the girl... burnt her house down and claimed it was an accident." Annie shook her head and took a sip from her water before continuing, "She made me realize how much I wanted to help children. For a while she was my motivation... Im so sorry!" She brought her hand to cover her face as the embarrassment sunk in, "I've gotten all depressing and gloomy. I didn't mean to bring up something so somber, but to answer your question... yes her dreams were my favorite." Hiding her face yet again, Annie began to gaze around the cafe hoping for some sort of distraction, someone loud or more interesting that could draw his attention away from her.