open | out with the old dreams I've borrowed

[sempreborgia]

Lucrezia had been here a month although she's barely gotten out of her apartment. The snow made traversing the city very near impossible in her attire. She could use that as an excuse, of course. But the truth of the matter was that she was sad. Lucrezia had fallen into a deep depression upon her return to the Sforza household after her brother Joffre's marriage. Her only solace was that she would have seen Paolo once again. That solace had been ripped from her by this strange place. She didn't even have her family to pull her from her reverie.

So it is a month later, after the snow has so suddenly disappeared, that she puts herself together in one of her finest of gowns and silken stockings. It was amazing the things this magical apartment had supplied her. She pulls some of her hair back, styling it with beads and netting. She applies some rouge to her cheeks and lips. And with a cover for shade to protect her porcelain skin, she finally pushes herself to leave her apartment.

She might seem out of her time, Lucrezia Borgia, among the modern City of Itinere. But she'll be exploring all of the shops and other parts of the City. She'll sit on a bench in the park for awhile and pause in her walk to dip her fingers into the water of a particularly beautiful marble fountain. She's mourned for her past. This is her present. And above all, she is Borgia. She will make the best of it as is expected of her.

Comments

[minicaptain]

"Nice to meet you, Lucrezia," Naomi offers, her happy smile still in place. Curious she may be and happy besides, but she is also a very smart young girl, especially for her age. "You still know more than me. This is my first day. I've never seen a place with so many flowers like this."

Then again, she's had very few experiences with things that weren't programmed into the holodeck, so this can't really be counted right now. It will be once she realizes that this is real and not a simulation of some kind. When that happens is anyone's guess.

"But you're right. There's a lot to see. I don't think I've found half the things there are to find."

[sempreborgia]

"They simply appeared overnight in perfectly ripe condition." Lucrezia explains, her gaze lowering to the ground across the sidewalk from the bench where they sat. It really was beautiful in spite of the jarring way in which they had appeared.

"Last night, when I took rest the ground was covered in a pristine white snow. And this morning, I awoke to this." She shakes her head. "It is a sorcery for which I am afraid I have no explanation."

[minicaptain]

Naomi has an explanation: either someone is manning the controls to the holodeck and switching things around at will or the holonovel is programmed to do this sort of thing when certain things are triggered and the hologram woman is programmed to comment on them. It's really simple.

"I don't, either," she says instead, looking at the flowers. "They're really pretty, but I shouldn't touch them anyway. Mom would say I should let them grow." She does. Usually. "How long was the snow around?"

[sempreborgia]

"The snow was perfect on the ground for several months to hear tell of it." It had been on the ground when she had arrived a month ago. It had still been on the ground only yesterday. Now it was nowhere in sight.

"I have only been here a month, Lady Naomi." She explains. "And I have yet to make it out into the city until now."

[minicaptain]

"Weird," Naomi says, frowning. She's pretty much convinced that someone is at the holodeck controls. This is all just way too weird.

"We could explore together, if you want," she offers, glancing up at the woman. "I'm planning on exploring as much as I can. I want to know everything there is to know about this place."

[sempreborgia]

"Such a lovely offer cannot go without an answer of yes, my sweet girl." Lucrezia stands, lifts her shade with one hand to keep her face from the sun and adjusts her skirts. Then she offers Naomi her hand. "Come. We will be great explorers together, you and I."

[minicaptain]

Naomi decides she likes this woman a lot. When she's in this simulation, she's going to come looking for Lady Lucrezia every time. Taking the woman's hand with a bright smile, she heads off. Explorers are perfect. It's just like it would be on Voyager if she were Captain.