Juliana was in the attic of her family's shop digging for her father's old medical texts when she started studying. Julian couldn't stop crying over how his little girl was growing up and wanting to be trained as a nurse. Didn't get her any where she wanted to be as Jewel reminded her this was how he expressed his joy. Julius and Kipling were ready to help her any way they could after making their offer as Narseh had news. His Aunt Nazali or Julian's former mentor was also willing to help her in her journey to this new dream.
Until then, she was learning on her own by borrowing books from the Palace's library whenever she visited Narseh. Hanging out in his book to end the endless pages her eyes would absorb like a sponge when he wasn't around. Taking the risk to go down into the dungeon where her father's old office lay. Sitting down on the chair and reading over books he kept on his desk until found by a Portia, Narseh, or a Palace Guard. Assisting her father or brother in the clinic during the basis of procedures with great interest. Sometimes even partaking in one after watching one of them a few times to learn what to do. Times she went on house calls with her father or brother that she called real hands on experience.
"What the..." She came across something.
"Julee!" Someone called for her.
"Up here and watch your step!" She called back.
Her Attacus atlas moth would fly from his resting place on one of the rafters to outside the entrance of the attic. Fluttering his wings when he took in the sight of a visiting Narseh with a crate of books in his arms. Sight of the large mouth told Narseh all he needed to know and would walk up the small ladder. Into the space where Juliana was found looking at the strangest of clothes folded up and placed in a chest. They smelled of dried peppermint leaves and had bits of that leave on the clothes she held.
"What are to looking at?" Narseh asked putting the small crate down.
"I was looking for my dad's old medical books and came across theses." She held up the what she found.
Jacket had a blacken feathers on the collar and tailcoats with gold features that made her wonder who this belonged. Narseh would kneel beside her blinking a few times before looking further into the chest to find more. Dress pants and red cravat folded around within a dress shirt had his guessing they went with the jacket.
"I think this costume was worn by your father for a Masquerade celebration." He asked noticing the feathers. "Once."
"Explains a lot." Juliana set the jacket down.
Her eyes lit up when she reached in to the chest and found a flowing white gown with silver accents and a winged mask. Set of sandals with a yellow straps and elbow length, finger less gloves were wrapped up in the skirt. Matching pieces of silver jewelry with sapphires embedded in them shined like new born star. Narseh guessed this one most have been her mother's costume from when she attended.
"I wish I knew what they looked like dancing as they wore these." Juliana brought the gown to her chest and hummed.
"You know we could always ask our parents." Narseh would come to remind her.
This earned him a kiss that caught him off guard and to his surprise a bit of tongue to be added from her angle. Leaving him quite dazed when she pulled away and fold what she found back into the chest I careful of matter. Stating She had her own costume ideas and didn't want to write over her parents' memories. Would someday come to ask her parents about their time in attending the Masquerade as a pair.
"Why are you here?" She would come to ask him. "I thought you were visiting with your aunts."
"I was excused to come drop these off." He pointed toward the crate. "Aunt Nazali wanted me to deliver these."
Juliana would be careful in closing the chest to look upon the small wooden box filled with newest medical texts. All collected and gathered by Nazali from their world travels of late since last time they visited. Would being presented to her by Narseh as his way to contributing her choice in wanting to be a nurse.
"She also made some notes about which chapters within the books you should read." He pulled out a list they wrote.
He would hand to her to look over and see what would come in handy for her going on about how far she gotten on her own. This had sitting back on her rear and share her most recent story about at home delivery she helped her brother in. Taking about mow messy everything from comforting the mother through her contractions pains to actual birth process. Between the screams about her mother needing to push and her brother telling her how he can see a head. Got untidy at the end with afterbirth and what other body fluid that came out of the mother after her baby was born.
"My brother got to name their kid while we got invited back to celebrate the kid's first birthday." She shook her head from side to side.
"Sounds like you had fun?" Narseh could see her smile.
"Reminds me of when my mother told me about how was my brother and me were born." She smiled.
Narseh would recall how his mother had to use a magical means to convenience him and his sister for the good of Vesuvia. While he listened to Juliana worriedly voice if she would be able to have children of her own in their future. Bringing up how painfully her mother went through nine months she carried her brother and her within her womb. How close she came to almost losing both her children two separate times she was naturally pregnant with them. Would stop when she was young royal reached out to her with one of his arms and pulled her toward his person in a assuring matter.
"I will never allow you to suffer in carrying our children." Narseh vowed. "I'll do everything I can to see our little ones and you make it through."
"...but nothing like what your dad did?" She reminds him.
"Are you bonkers?" Narseh asked her back.
He got a laugh from her that could be heard by whoever else saw her mouth still resting on the outside of the attic. Up he would go asking what was so funny in a dimly lit space where their parents stored most of their old clothes and things. Juliana would answer her brother her about what plans he and Kipling had for the up coming Masquerade, if any.
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Nessaea abruptly showed up at the backdoor of the Devorak household with a gift for Jewel and request to join her them for dinner. Her brother wouldn't think twice about convincing anyone to send her back home when he distress in his eyes. A seat was given to her Kipling at the table when he was in middle of helping prep for dinner by chopping vegetables. She removed her scarf with shaking hands that everyone would notice and scared her brother to a point. Down went her gift on some near by counter while the back door was secured shut for someone to ask why she was here.
"Brother I made a terrible mistake." He words gave some chills.
"Does this have to do with the rumors about yours drunken antics?" Narseh asked her.
She slammed her eyes shut and nods her head up and down before growing quiet for a few seconds before she confessed her mistake. After being caught stealing a single bottle of champagne wine from one of the crates delivered to the Palace. She would invite the person that caught her red handed to the abandoned wing for a bit of private time. After cork was popped and a few mouthfuls were shared straight for the bottle instead of a glasses while between them. Pieces of their own clothing started to come off one after another until she was riding her captor minutes later. End with them passing out and her waking hours later to find out the person she embraced was retired Consul Valerius. Led her to leave before he would noticed her missing and seek out her brother to trying sort out this problem.
"There. There." Jewel used a beat juice stained rag to dry Nessaea's tears.
"At least your weren't discovered still in lover's arms." Kipling assured her.
He went on to tell a few weeks after his arms had been mended by Julius after a nasty fall that injured him throughout his body. Meant he would be bed ridden and placed on a low dose of Morphine through a IV drip within his parents home. Didn't stop them from secretly sharing their first time with each other when Kipling was in a drug induced haze. Time had to be taken with him by Julius from way one would touch the other in a lingering matter to how they spoke.
"My family would soon find me and Julius the next morning in a unclothed state." Kipling wipes off the knife he was using. "We were lucky to have the covers tangled our mid- drifts to cover our modesty."
Juliana and Narseh went in their own from of shock imagining what that looked like as Jewel how to congratulate her son. Led to her telling everyone how her and Julian came to make love for the first time within his own office in the dungeon. Within few short months after they had bond the Devil and saved Vesuvia from his fowl plans with their friends. They returned to his old office within the dungeon of the Palace for old times sake a week afterward. Caught up in the nostalgia of their memories, Jewel stripped Julian of his jackets and gloves while sharing fantasy with him. Aroused him greatly as he listened while they made their way to his edge of his desk and felt the laces of his pants loosen. He welcome invisible hands of Jewel's magic pushing his pants down his legs to reveal a stiffing rod. Followed by his shirt being pushed open and left to hang off his shoulders to leave him exposed to chilly air of dungeon. He fought the shivers when his heated skin was caressed by this coldness to feel the sensation of her finger tips in his chest hair. His eyes on verge of closing, if wasn't for Jewel's silent to keep them open long enough to watch her. She propped her self in sitting position in his desk while rather nervous removing her skirt and undergarments along the way.
View of her like this had Julian bridge the small distance between them and sharing how beautiful she was at that moment. Had her reach up toward tresses of his hair that covered the eye patch that covered one of her favorite about him. Knot that held piece of cloth came undone and was pulled away from his face was a better sight for her. Had him smiling and sharing how he's willing to wait to physically join their bodies in making love to his beloved Jewel. This moment was enough for him as that goofy smile she loved spread across his face when their eyes connected. Led to her further leaning back on to his desk with him willingly followed not caring about what was knocked over. Helping her spread her legs with his arms either side of them with his tip nestled among the curls of her opening. He ended up entering her all in one thrust and breaking her barrier with her yelping alerting him to tensing around him. Quietly waited to start moving to ease the ache while his head started to swim in pleasurable mix of hormones.
"We went on for an hour or half with him describing how our first sexual experience was better then what he been through." Jewel happily recalled. "Before he met me."
Everyone in the room including Nessaea over the detailed story told to them about her and Julian's first time together. Stayed that way until from side hallway, Julian would make his grand entrance with Cant in arm and his wife's tarantula on his head. Saying how he was done with his paperwork for the night before noticing how everyone grew quiet. Looking among his children then their significant others before noticing the one extra guest sitting a their table. Sighs she been crying had him announcing their dinner table was going to be set for one more while asking her what was wrong.
"You are welcomed to stay here until your feel better." He would offer.
She would accept with her brother being the one among them to return to the Palace to fetch a few of her personal things. Clothes would be shared with Julian and whatever that been in storage in the attic up stairs since Jewel and Julian been together. Leaving her in Julius' company in front of the shop taking inventory after they closed up for the night. She volunteered to climb the ladder and read the labels of what herbs needed to be re- stocked after a busy week. Named alone she enjoyed reading when she had to move up and down to look at the shelves that held all these containers. Being careful to not slip on step her ballet slipper clad feet would more on in any direction on the ladder. Until Julius told her they got everything she could climb down for them to clean up his mother's work area behind the front counter.
"How did your know Sir Kipling was The One?" Nessaea's question left him pondering.
"When we first fenced together." He gave an amusing smile. "We ended in a draw and his smile crippled me."
"Would you re-d o your first time?" She blushed recalling what Kipling said.
Julius would sigh knowing that Kipling would start sharing bits and pieces of their private life with his family and close friends. Nothing he could do about what been told not since he was being asked about re- living his first time with Kipling. Painkiller Kipling was on and his mending body with an arm and half his scalp covered in bandages with stitches underneath. Did help prolong their sexual connection until they peaked one after another and were found by Kipling's family.
"Minus the drugs that he was on." Julius clenched the clipboard. "I wouldn't want to relive a single moment."
He would have gone on, if Jewel's voice didn't call the two from the back about dinner being ready for them to come eat. Julius would end up handing Nessaea a few loaves of bread dropped off by the baker during a quick visit to the shop. She would take to them with him quickly behind her pulling something out his pocket and signaling to Kipling to join them. Over to his side the knight would go wondering what was wrong before his left hand was lifted and ring placed.
"Wanted to officially promote your from my lover to fiance." Julius pulled his hands away.
"Told you." Julian looked at his wife and daughter.
"Explains why your dad was out with him." Narseh knew something was up.
Julian would start his countless questions about when grandkids were going to appear and why a wedding was happening. Ready to give over his wife's magical services in a magical sense from fertility magic that was behind Nadia's children. Got him elbowed in the shoulder before his plate and was put down before him as her to get him to stop pressuring them. He would do knowing Jewel wasn't one he wanted to angry knowing he would spend a few nights in his clinic.
"Take your time and promise you will marry like we did during the Spring Season." Jewel asked of them.
"Vesuvia in Spring time." Julian remembered they wedding. "Your mother was so beautiful."
"You were also handsome." She leaned toward his cheek.
A simple kiss was placed by her on his cheek with everyone's plates being placed before them by webs of spiders. Food in their dishes and cups for them to drink out of would follow with offered beverage of tea and juice. Silverware and folded napkins would soon late on either side of the plates placed before everyone.
"What a show." Nessaea would applauds happily.
"Make your think about taking me up on my offer on coming here sooner." Narseh leaned in his seat.
The nod of her head told him she was now happy she came here to hide away from the scandal that was swallowing the Palace. Nadia ended up putting out when new rumors about her daughter being a drunkard and liking the bottle. Surfaced one after another from when she first started drinking publicly to when she experience her first blackout. Portia was the one that had sent her to her brother's second home away from the prying eyes of the Palace. Former Consul Valerius hadn't heard from since he woke up alone without his bed partner laying next to him.
"You up to a busy day tomorrow?" Juliana asked Nessaea.
"I would like to go forging with one of you." Nessaea had heard from guards or Portia about seeing people in the Dark forest. "If I am allowed?"
Jewel would agree to it before Grace took place and they settled down to eat with conversation filling the air. Juliana brought up the wedding clothes and costumes that had been found in chest up in the attic with peppermint leaves. Jewel would be the one that had her hand taken by Julian who would tell the tale behind those outfits. Going into detail about the fun they had and the moments that were shared wearing them. Left Juliana smirking since the One-shoulder Asymmetric Mini Dress was her mother's wedding dress. Looking right at Narseh since he recently shared he wanted to marry her within a few years.
"She does have a lovely pair." Kipling understood the under spoken words.
"She gets that from me." Julian proudly smirk.
"My legs not good enough to be passed on?" Jewel jokingly asked Julian. "I remember someone saying how good them look in heels."
Everyone ended up laughing at what she said with Julian going on about their son inheriting her legs instead of their daughter.
