Noblesse Oblige

Chapitre treize

Author stuff: Don't want to bring everyone down right at the top here, so I'll fill y'all in on some things at the bottom.

Chapitre treize

There Is Only Anger

"You have a nasty habit of wandering off at odd hours," Rothbart said to her the next afternoon. She looked up at him quite innocently, the light blue fabric of the dress she was making in her hands.

"I'm not sure what you mean," she said, fluttering her lashes a few times. "Wander off? My friend and I decided to take nice long walks shortly before you arrived, now that we won't be seeing each other as often."

"You know what I mean."

"I'm afraid that I don't." She stood up, clutching the parts of her dress to her chest. He towered over her, not unlike Chat Noir or the Duke. Most people in Rochers did, really. But there was something more... striking about his height, something familiar. "Could you please explain it to me?"

He scoffed and turned away, leaving her standing there. She watched as he retreated to her room. She huffed and got back to work.

The dress itself wasn't going to take her long. The embroidery she planned for along the hem of the skirt, however, was a different matter.

"I wouldn't worry too much about him," Theo said. She looked over to him. He was in the middle of carving a little figurine out of some sort of wood. "He's always been like that."

She hummed, nodding. She started to see again when she looked over at the figurine. He had made a few since arriving – they were all quite good, good enough that he should actually consider that as his way of making money and not baking.

"Where did you learn to do that?" she said, nodding to his current work.

"Hm? Oh, my father taught me." He set the figure down on the mantle, brushing the shavings into the fireplace. The scent of pine started to fill the air. "He worked for the court, doing commissions and what have you. I'm... I'm not as good as him."

"These are better than most people can get around here. I'm positive if you showed this to the Duke, you could easily leave baking behind."

"And leave you to the ridicule of my master? I should hope not."

"I'll be fine. I have ways to escape."

"Ah, yes, the leisurely walks through a bandit infested forest with a dear friend, sewing a dress, and making cheeses. Great escapes from the wrath of Rothbart."

"Those bandits don't bother anyone unless they cause trouble."

"Trouble? For who, you or the village?"

"Anyone who doesn't deserve it," she said, picking her sewing back up again. "They're not cruel, the bandits, they just... They don't follow the same rules as we do."

"As proper citizens of the Kingdom of France," Theo said. "What makes them so special? They help you or something?"

"Once, a while back. My cart got stuck and they offered to get it out."

He snorted.

"Bandits don't do anything for free. What'd they want from you in return?"

"A smile."

"A smile? That's it?"

"Yep. As I said, they're not cruel people. Now, what do you think of this particular stitch? Should I stick with it or sew back over for a tighter seam?"

. . .

Theo didn't know a whole lot about clothes. Really, all he knew was that he went to a tailor, had his measurements taken, and they fitted some clothes for him. He, apparently, had bemoaned Marinette bugging him to Rose and Juleka, and they offered their assistance one fine morning a few days later.