houseofcards_rp | [OTA] Beware of Greeks bearing gifts

Zoe's twenty-first birthday had started well enough, with murmured birthday wishes from Victor and a promise of dinner tonight before he left to start his day either in his office here or the one over at Club Castle. And it had, for a few hours at least continued well. She dropped in on the accounting office to check on Penelope - she might be taking the day off, but her assistant was still new enough that she liked to check in before disappearing for the day. Then she'd dropped into the Head of Finance's office to hand over the expenditure reports for September and smile at Edison's side-eye. He was a Six, after all, and had some idea that Zoe had plans to challenge him at some point, but there was little he could do about that.

And he wouldn't be wrong, anyway.

The day only went south when she headed down the hall and found a pair of Heart Twos with a box. The library was quiet this time of day, and she hated to let people into Victor's rooms, so she nodded in that direction, letting them put it on a table deep in the stacks and dismissing them before she opened the note. She recognized the handwriting, after all.

Darling, Happy Birthday and a belated congratulations on your impressive achievement of Five. Of course, if you'd stayed put, you could be a Nine with your dear, dear brother by now, but I'm sure you're intelligent enough to not realize that.

I'd hate to leave this day unacknowledged. These are some things I thought you'd enjoy, dear.

Charlotte Huntly Kattalakis

Well, Zoe thought as she picked up the yellowed letters and unfolded the first. They ran the gamut: letters from Charlotte, letters from Aunt Maggie, letters from someone named Maria. Correspondence of a more...professional sort - off-Deck jobs, compensation for them.

It was all supposed to upset her, Zoe thought. And it...didn't, really. She'd known even if she'd pretended not to, what kind of man her father had been. She'd seen things, she thought, and then she blinked when she saw a black velvet box tossed carelessly in the corner of the box, reaching over to pick it up. Inside were earrings, and a note old enough that the paper had started to yellow.

Για Ζωή, για εικοστό πρώτο έτος της ηλικίας της.

"Papa," she murmured, and leaned back in the chair as she looked down at the jewelry. Would he be upset with her for what she'd done with her life? Did it matter? It shouldn't, certainly, especially not after this summer, but...

Well.

Maybe it did, a little.

[Translation: For Zoe, on her twenty-first birthday.]

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"Not yet, though I've put on something like ten pounds in the last ten months. Chives spoils me with scones far more than Sean ever did." Plus she didn't have to stay in racing shape. "I think we should. Even Faces need to get out, sometimes."

"I lost weight, gained some muscle, then because I'm not training for swimming anymore it's..." She glances down, she'd pinch her middle if she could. Sandy's always tried to look 'slender' but not 'thin'. The idea of her ribs being seen through her skin squicks her. "Drag her out kicking and screaming, then?"

"Victor - though I'm working with Hadyn now - had me training with weights for months. I thought I was going to die." But it had made her fast with Lily, faster than Lily had expected. "And I have to run in the mornings, or the pasta Chives feeds me, plus the scones, would do me in."

She nods, though. "There's two of us. Three if we let Sophie in on it; I think we can manage it."

There's a quiet head shake. She's not going to do a potentially physical challenge if she can help it for the rest of her days. "I just... want to healthy and I'm going to keep my eyes peeled for something else." Though she might have to give up on the scones.

"... Four if we get Tegan. But more than three means the wealth is shared and all is well."

"It's better if it's something you have fun with." Riding, for her, but that wouldn't be for Sandy. Still, there were other sports, even in the Deck. "Then it's not quite as much like work.

"Exactly so. And I doubt we'll need to do too much convincing for movies and cupcakes." She smiles. "And cupcake cocktails."

"It always feels like work." She grumps for a moment quietly. "If I do it though, it's just for me. No more challenging in sports. I did that. I beat that. It was awesome. I might go back to swimming for health reasons when it gets back to spring."

There's a glance at the vodka bottle and she smiles. "I'll try to polish our cupcake cocktails up with Godiva and even more vodka." Somewhere, Russians should be crying. "

"You could try yoga, too." Avery seems to like it, at least. "I got countered in a few, but I've only challenged in equestrienne. And I've been horse-crazy practically from birth."

She nods. "I'll pick out movies. Kung fu, I think. I know Sophie likes them."

"I might. I've also been getting pushed for the last few months on combat de canne. I'm trying it for a month." But she decides she will never challenge in it, even if she does pick it up. She a fighting don't work. Nearly ten years of BJJ and she still got her nose broken.

"That might be new and different for me, but I'll try it!"

"It can be fun not to use it for it's intended purpose. Don't tell Victor I said that." Her lips twitch a little bit.

"They're ridiculous, but kind of fun. I had a crush on Jet Li growing up."

[OTA] Beware of Greeks bearing gifts

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