(retroactive)

[her_imperial_radiance]

It is after the very first Bellparty.

"Dad never comes to these," Elspeth tells her grandma. "Too many strange Bells. If there were strange Edwards, Mama might have trouble with them too, but there aren't so far. But I can reintroduce you now, if you'd like."

Comments

[prima_sequentem]

She smiles wryly.

"Well, it's nice to see you've done well for yourself."

This is very true. Married to a global empress is a fine place for a child of hers to end up. She's proud.

[her_imperial_radiance]

He half-turns, smiles faintly. "I'm glad you think so."

Elspeth makes to slip out of the room, unless her grandmother would like to stop her.

[prima_sequentem]

She grins.

"I'm happy as long as you're happy, but since you're happy and an emperor I feel like I'm due for a little gloating."

[alicornucopia]

"I think I am happy, now," Edward says after due consideration. Then: "You realize the title of Emperor is almost entirely ceremonial."

[prima_sequentem]

"It still means 'married to an empress'. And a damn good empress at that."

[alicornucopia]

He smiles. "She is."

[prima_sequentem]

"I've noticed," she says, smiling back. "Hence the gloating."

[alicornucopia]

He laughs, a little. "- So apart from gloating. What do you mean to do now you're alive again?"

[prima_sequentem]

"I believe somebody floated the idea of Bella hiring me as imperial personnel officer. Sounds like a nice job."

[alicornucopia]

"Quite possibly. There are a lot of personnel, and it's been handled per department, so far."

[prima_sequentem]

"Reasonable. But not the most efficient it could possibly be. I like efficiency," she says.

[alicornucopia]

He nods. "Are you liable to carry on being human? That would make you the only one working for the Coven in any significant capacity."

[prima_sequentem]

"I don't have any plans to change my species anytime soon."

[alicornucopia]

Edward nods.

And:

"Carlisle always said you only asked him about me, not you."

[prima_sequentem]

She shrugs.

"It would've been harder to keep a lid on it if it was both of us."

Saving Edward was the priority. Saving herself would have been nice, but was strictly optional.

[alicornucopia]

"Somewhat. Yes. And he didn't see a chance to get you out of sight before you died anyway."

There is a very brief flicker of his eyes towards the door through which Elspeth left.

[prima_sequentem]

She catches it.

She declines to ask out loud, but she wonders.

[alicornucopia]

"How much of a history lesson have you gotten so far?" he wonders, looking back out the window. They're in Norway right now; it shows a forest.

[prima_sequentem]

"Kind of a patchy one," she says.

[alicornucopia]

"In 2005, when Elspeth was very, very young, the Volturi caught me. It was standard procedure, at the time, for Chelsea, or Addy copying her power, to destroy all the magically unprotected relationships of a captured witch. So that in the event we ran away, we'd be less likely to find old covenmates, and spread the story. Chelsea couldn't affect mate bonds. That was it."

[prima_sequentem]

Well, that's... upsetting.

[alicornucopia]

"Bella's immune. Of course. And we've had time to - rebuild, since."

[prima_sequentem]

"That's good," she says.

[alicornucopia]

"Yes. It is a rebuilding, though, not a - restoration. The initial instinctive things - are gone. For Elspeth too, for that matter. She could remove artificial add-ons but not replace things taken."

[prima_sequentem]

"It's handy that Bella killed Chelsea already," she says. "Saves me the trouble."