{ the Present || Castle Aetas || 12:00 }
āOh, Iām so sorry!ā Beatrice had said breathlessly as she had gotten up from the ground, pushing her hair out of her face as she peered at Sadie. Standing up straight beside Sadie, Beatrice felt the nudge on her shoulder but couldnāt help but allow a flush creep across her cheeks. She was clumsy- and Beatrice had been her whole life- but each time she had stumbled or tripped in front of others a life crippling shame would creep upon the Watcher. However, Sadie cut across her fumbling thoughts, āSo Beatrice, tell me where you went. Iām curious.ā Immediately, Beatriceās face lit up as a large smile formed on her face, grinning a few moments before stating that she had been at the Lincoln Memorial. āIt was so, so great, Sadie!ā She squealed, holding onto the other Watcherās hands as she twirled Sadie around in the corridor, her voice light and airy as she recounted the speeches that she had just listened to. ā-and when he stood on the podium everything seemed to go silent. The start of his speech was so strong and the ending even more so!ā Letting go of Sadieās hands, Beatrice laughed as she flicked her hair back before tugging it forward again, braiding it though she had no hair-tie. āBut I grew faintā¦and I couldnāt stay for too long. I wish I could go back againā¦ā But with that, Beatrice let her hair down and shook her head before noticing the look of needing to speak on Sadieās face. āI-Iām done.ā She stuttered, her blush creeping back onto her face once again as she knew the other girl had something much more important to say.
ā "So at breakfast this morning, I overheard a couple of people talking about who's going to take over now that Artemis is gone." With that single sentence, the look on Beatriceās face immediately turned blank as she followed along behind Sadie, not liking the topic one single bit. She had mourned with the rest when Artemis had died- and had continued to mourn afterwards. This was the woman that had taught her near anything- the distant figure that Beatrice had wished to be the parental figure in her life. But Sadieās voice forced itself into her ears as Beatrice tried her best to block them out; she would not think about the succession of a new Watcher leader just yet. āā¦ I just don't want it to be like parliament, if you know what I mean..." Beatrice forced herself to nod as her mood plummeted once again. As if out of reflex, Beatrice reached forward and wrapped her hands around Sadieās, holding onto it tight as they made their way over to Artemisās study. "I was ordered to clean this place out, and put everything that isn't a shelf or a desk into the storage room." Beatrice watched as Sadie entered the slightly dusty room, standing at the door edge as she peered in. She had not been in the study much, unlike a few other Watchers. With no intent on becoming the next leader of the Watchers- or any high ranking figure at that matter- Beatrice had constantly strayed far away from the arguments and debates that had so plagued the last few years of Artemis Fletcherās life.
As Sadie worked her way around the study, Beatrice stood huddled in a corner, her mind already wandering away as she stared at a strange painting on the wall. A boy, a woman that looked uncannily like Artemis Fletcher. Beatrice furrowed her brow, tilting her head to a side as she wondered if the picture depicted Artemis and her nephew- but that did not matter much anymore. He hadnāt even come to her funeral. The rude offence caused a small frown to appear on Beatriceās face as she forced her eyes to swivel away to the book case beside her. Time Traveling: A Guide to the Past. Beatrice moved on. The Gods of the Past and Their Powers. At this, Beatrice tilted her head, but what filled her mind was not thoughts on the bookās contents itself. Rather, her mind immediately floated away, her eyes glazing over as she swayed a bit to a melody that could not be heard- "Here, Bee." Beatrice jolted awake at Sadieās voice, turning around wide-eyed as she watched her friend slide a book in her direction. "This one's for you." Picking up the book, Beatrice looked at the cover before putting it back down again, a small sad smile on her face. āThank you, Sadie.ā[/i] Beatrice said, her voice light as she allowed her finger to trace the outline of a dancing woman on the cover. [b]āBut I cannot take something from Artemis.ā It was hard for Beatrice to believe that the woman the Watchers had followed- the strong, powerful woman- had been killed all too suddenly. For nothing. It was hard to believe she was gone; the sentiment plagued the whole Watcher group. "I still can't believe she's gone... I remember when I first came here...I was sixteen and so confused...she helped me so much. Helped me sort out my problems, inspired me to do something about them...she was irreplaceable. In a way, I thought she'd never die."
Beatrice nodded, gulping down the tears that threatened to show as she picked up the book again, taking it with her with the intent of keeping it. āI-I agree.ā Beatrice said, clutching the book tight against her chest as she looked left and right across the study, a look of a lost child on her face. āWithout her everything seems to be falling apart.ā But Beatrice shook her head, taking a few steps back to the bookshelf she had been looking at earlier, her back to Sadie as she continued to speak, āBut what can we do but move on? Time has never been kind even to us, though we manipulate it.ā Pushing her hair back, Beatrice sighed as she allowed a silence to sink into the room, her eyes glazing over once more before Sadie once again broke her reverie. "July 30th, 1478, Florence, Italy. 8 o'clock pm. Do you think this is how Artemis knew what orders to give us? Y'know what, we should probably get moving. If we don't do something soon, bad things could happen. I'm gonna go grab some stuff real quickly. If you want to come along, Bee, meet me back in here when you're ready." Beatrice could only watch wide-eyed, mouth agape as Sadie immediately hurried out of the study, leaving Beatrice all alone in the dusty room. āIā¦ā She said just as the last wisp of Sadieās hair disappeared around the door. And then Beatrice was alone.
Sighing, Beatrice walked up to the book and peered down at it, curiosity filling her face as she flipped through the pages, wonder on her face. She had never seen the book up close before- and, well, now she could but something tugged Beatrice away from it. It did not feel right for her to go through the pages. Following Sadie, Beatrice walked out of the study, casting one last peering glance at the book before hurrying to her own room, throwing her new book aside as she quickly shed her clothes before picked up her set of five small daggers and strapped them around her waist. She would not use them though- Beatrice never used her daggers except during training sessions. Shrugging on her clothes, Beatrice gave herself a quick glance in the mirror- her multicolored floral shirt looked a bit rumpled- before rushing back to Artemisās study, pausing at the door once again before leaning against the corridor wall, waiting for Sadie to return rather than enter the room by herself.