without recourse

[luminous_regnant]

Bella doesn't even know that Elspeth had plans to visit Downside until after she finds that Jane is offline, that wishing doesn't fix it. Elspeth is a grownup; Edward does not monitor her every minute of every day, does not report all her comings and goings to her mother.

It's Addy who tells her, uncharacteristically grave, after Bella makes the announcement that Aurum will be isolated until Elspeth finds a door. Elspeth rescheduled an appointment with Addy to go offworld.

And now Elspeth is not going to find them a door, because Elspeth is gone, might well stay gone till Jane is fixed, because time is only synced up due to Jane. And Bella cannot fix Jane. Elspeth might find a door after fifty years have gone by in Aurum.

Bella makes the revised announcement by brainphone to everyone except Jake.

Jake she tells in person. Jake she clutches by the shoulders while he sobs and shakes. Jake she offers to put to sleep so Elspeth will not come home to find him having done something regrettable. Because she will, eventually, come home. Jake she tucks into bed like she's his mother and sends into dreamless nothing so he doesn't have to suffer however long his imprint will be vanished where he cannot follow.

And then she goes to Edward and, because she is a vampire, she does not cry, but she does sob.

Comments

[manofmyword]

"Well, damn," says the Joker. "I hope her majesty's okay."

[temporal_affairs]

"Her Majesty'll cope. She'll be in a lousy mood but she'll cope. We're probably not embarking on any ambitious projects for the time being, we'll just hum along. Jacob, on the other hand - I hope she has him handled somehow or Her Highness comes home to a dead wolf."

[manofmyword]

"Elsie's Downside," the Joker points out. "If he gets dead he'll probably see her before the rest of us."

[temporal_affairs]

"Possibly unimprinted," Nathan points out. "Probably not a wolf anymore. It'd wreck the pack and be all kinds of complicated to fix. Besides, Jane's offline; unless Elspeth expects Jake to off himself she won't know to look."

[manofmyword]

"Well, I'm not going to recommend it."

[temporal_affairs]

"I bet Bella tucked him away for a long nap," says Nathan. "But just in case, I'm going to check."

He inquires.

"Yep," he says, "and wow, she's snippy, I wouldn't try anything resembling humor with her till Elsie's back or -" He tilts his head, tries a long time horizon. "Shit, eleven years. I think..." He tries a few more timer checks. "I think we're looking at eleven years no princess."

[manofmyword]

"Mm, remind me to avoid her, then," he says. "When appropriate."

He gives his sweetheart a kiss.

[temporal_affairs]

"Will do. I think maybe you wanna funnel coins up through somebody who can get near Her Majesty without getting snarled at. His Majesty or Alice maybe."

Kiss.

[manofmyword]

"Gotcha. Not that I mind a little snarling, but I don't think I'd improve her mood any."

[temporal_affairs]

"Probably not."

[manofmyword]

Snuggle time? The Joker thinks it is snuggle time.

[temporal_affairs]

It is always snuggle time!

[manofmyword]

That is true. That is extremely true.

The Joker also suspects that it may soon be minting time.

[temporal_affairs]

Might it? How interesting.

[manofmyword]

Yes. Yes, that.

[temporal_affairs]

After about a week and a half, there is a knock on their door while they are supplying Kerron with breakfast.

[manofmyword]

The Joker beckons to the door, which opens.

[temporal_affairs]

It's Rosalie. "Bella wanted to ask me to pick up coins this week," says Rosalie. "You can check with her if you don't want to hand over big ones to random people, but I don't really recommend it."

Little Henry is close at her heels, his hand in his mother's.

[manofmyword]

The Joker shrugs. He pulls a plain red drawstring bag out of thin air, full of his last two weeks' worth of coins and made to release them only to Golden, and hands it over to Rosalie.

"She doing okay?" he asks.

[temporal_affairs]

"Not great," says Rosalie. She takes the bag, lifts up Henry and sets him on her hip. "She's competent as ever, but she's taking more personal time by a factor of about twenty, delegating more, brainstorming less. She knows Elspeth's alive, so it's not as bad as I've heard she was when she thought Edward was dead."

[manofmyword]

"Sorry to hear it," he says. "Best I can probably do for her is stay out of her way, so—" he shrugs; gestures to the bag of coins.

[temporal_affairs]

"Yeah, she's basically only talking to her favorite handful of people," sighs Rosalie. "I'll probably be by again in a week or two."

[manofmyword]

"Fine by me."

[temporal_affairs]

Rosalie waves, and lets herself out, taking coins and child with her.

[manofmyword]

The Joker hugs his sweetheart and sighs.