[ota] beware, be canny and careful

[lowtohigh]

She doesn't regret it in the slightest. What's to regret?

Eileen is fully capable of making her own decisions. She's allowed to decide to leave Kevin behind and go visit the Spade dungeon. And someone--she's not certain who--is also fully capable of infinitely childishly telling Kevin exactly where he or she saw his theoretical charge slipping off to while he was turned around. And Kevin is not just capable but essentially required to tell her mother things like where her daughter was this past weekend.

Which means Eileen Eicheln has, for the first time in her life, seen her mother actually angry. It also means, for the first time in her life and very likely one of the first times in history, the Ace of Clubs is grounded.

Mr Kahl is allowed to bring work and keep her up to date with her studies. A student from Mr DeWitt's class is allowed to spend a bit of time letting her know what's she's missed. The King and Jack are certainly permitted to speak to their Ace at their convenience.

But everyone else? Is getting Kevin's most sympathetic smile and a firm shake of his head. "Seems house arrest is catching."


[ooc; Except probably anyone with half a reason can talk to the moodiest tween about how she done wrong. Kevin is secretly easy. Or just come shoot the shit with Kevin, I guess? o/]

Comments

[the_songbird]

Elani will pass by Kevin with something of a sympathetic smile herself, pat him on the shoulder, and then give Eileen a knock on the door. At least the illusion of choice and privacy, right?

"Eileen? May I come in?"

[lowtohigh]

Not much of an illusion, with Kevin poking his head in every few seconds. At least having a visitor will minimize that, for however long Elani stays.

"...it's not locked."

Not allowed, at this point. Not fair in the slightest.

... i have a feeling this is a bad time for Acesis funtimes. Yet.

[somuchheart]

'Official Ace ambassadorial duties between Suits' sounds appropriately prissy, doesn't it? She'll knock quietly at the door, waiting for the answer before slipping in. "Hey, sweetie."

BLYTHE MAKE IT BETTER. ; ;

[lowtohigh]

It does, but it also sounds like something Kevin has to sigh and grudgingly accept. What, is he going to say 'no' to the Ace of Hearts?

The answer from within is half-hearted. The younger Ace is curled up in a chair against her window, looking equally half-hearted in general.

"...hey."

[cipherspeak]

Elisha was...approximately as pleased as Argine was, and tempted to ground Eileen himself. But a calming chat with Katya - it seemed they were always having to have those for one reason or another - a run twice around the Deck, and an hour throwing knives into targets, and he was far steadier. His temper was under a tight leash.

But there was a very grave, very serious look in his eyes.

"Eileen."

It wouldn't be amiss to call it disappointed.

[lowtohigh]

That would have been better. She could have argued against her King--not actually her legal guardian or biological progenitor--attempting to 'ground' his Ace. There could have been a rational argument and possibly room for negotiation of terms.

Much, much harder things to do with the argument 'I'm your mother' able to be thrown down on the table.

Here, already in a position of weakness, already lost in the midst of brooding of the caliber only truly gifted to those under 17 years of age, it's a different conversation. It's a completely cutting tone of voice, even if she's refusing to look up from her own hands where she's curled on the bed.

"Sir."

[maskofhearts]

Kevin, Kevin....Hadyn just looked at him, pursing his lips a little as he sighed. "Kevin, honestly. What am I going to do? Break her out? She's thirteen, this could be construed as being a bit much, don't you think?"

He sighed a little, even. Because there was only so much one could do to convince a bodyguard that the King's boyfriend was a perfectly legal visitor.

[lowtohigh]

Kevin Rowland is not an unreasonable man. He isn't without that calm flicker of sympathy in the back of his eyes for the girl he's keeping locked away in the room behind him.

"...she's not just thirteen, though, is she."

She's also an Ace. She's also lodged quite a few throwing knives in the door he's leaning against in a fit of frustration. She's also Elisha's child.

And he's also just stalling a little longer so he can tell Argine he tried not to let her daughter's friends just come visit willy-nilly.

I felt like I needed to tag with someone who isn't a Tower of Disappointment.

[headfollowheart]

The doughnuts are meant to bribe Kevin, and they work. But he's been sitting there a long time, and they're filled with raspberry jam. You can't blame the man, entirely.

For Eileen, though. "I brought you a pie."

It's sort of a, I heard you were grounded so I brought you a pie offering. Zoe doesn't like Julien in the least, though she's never indicated that to Eileen or told her the fifteen reasons why, but she can see the appeal.

Thirteen wasn't that long ago.

Nothing will be able to uncrush her spirits from his disappointment. Nobody and nothing.

[lowtohigh]

Kevin is a good man, a strong man, a generally kind man, an overworked man, and also simply a man. A man sometimes just needs a ten-minute break with some doughnuts.

Eileen, on the other hand, is no man. She's also not quite a little girl anymore, although she hardly ever was a little girl. Zoë understands that, of course, in a way not everyone does.

Which means she'll hopefully understand why the younger girl glances only briefly before returning to being curled up in her chair and staring out the window. "You shouldn't have."

[heartbreakclub]

Enter one Caleb Caustello with a fragile book in a ziplock bag stacked on top of some dictionaries, and a laptop bag in another.

"Make yourself useful or move aside, you muppet. How can you guard an Ace when you're sitting down stuffing your face with doughnuts?" Grumpy old man come bearing gifts for his could-have-been granddaughter? Not Caleb, certainly. It wasn't as if he came storming up to Eileen's room pointing a shotgun at her bodyguard.

[lowtohigh]

His second half-break and first meal of the day, and he gets called a muppet. Maybe it is time to ask for a pay-raise, shotgun or no.

"She's really not supposed to have visitors, you know."

[allthesamemask]

She has homework. And schoolwork. She can't just pass it to Eileen without a chance to explain it.

Clearly why she is here, Kevin. Clearly. And she will not move until she can see Eileen.

[lowtohigh]

Then again, if he is fired for being overwhelmed by a glowering 15-year-old, he could probably live a very, very happy life out on one of the farms. Raise golden retrievers.

"...promise me you'll be in and out, yes?"

[expluribus]

Here: the face of a man who doted on and showered the littlest Ace with love unabashedly and publicly whilst keeping the fretting and agonising in a place and space where she'd never see or hear.

Here: the face of a man who wasn't legal guardian or Face and had no excuse to turn up in this part of the castle, at this time of day, at all.

Here: the face of a man who'd never needed any other excuse other than 'I felt like it' to do anything he wanted.

Kevin got a clap on the back and a shit-eating grin and he really should have stopped Lasse from speaking.

"Good day, Master Traitor!" So cheerful and loud enough for the darling girl to hear it through her door.

[lowtohigh]

Here: the face of Lasse's overwrought replacement who would be more than happy to hand over the body-guarding reins for a bit of time to recuperate from the chewing out he's received from Argine and then, repeatedly, from an apparently teenaged Eileen.

He'll have to be forgiven for not smiling back, shoulder sagging just slightly as he lifts a hand to scrub briefly over his face.

"Please don't start. I've just got her quiet again."

[thecutdiamond]

Surely he'll let through her aunt and an injured woman, though, won't he? Especially since she'll be giving him a Look that Got Shit Done when she was Queen.

"Even those under house arrest can get visitors."

[lowtohigh]

She's not Queen anymore. Then again, neither is Argine, and that doesn't stop Kevin jumping while asking 'how high.' The problem is when there are contradicting moments between no-longer-Queens.

"...if Argine asks, Ms Rachel..."

Tell her he protested.

[belowcastle]

The Young Miss still must eat and take refreshment and, no, Master Kevin, it would be inappropriate for a bodyguard to see to that. Gideon Pryce looks expressionlessly at the other man, perfectly respectful, perfectly proper.

And perfectly emanating disapproval and refusal should he try to take the tray from him.

[lowtohigh]

This is not a stare-down Kevin can win. He'll do his level best for a few minutes before opening the door with a cranky murmur about how the other man has ten minutes to get back out.

The usual spark doesn't come into Eileen's eyes as she glances up briefly from the spot she's curled up on her bed. She adores Gideon, really, and she's glad he's still coming to look after her, but...

It's so hard to be happy.

Doubles~

[threecardmonty]

"You must've been a stellar kid." Monty leans against the door jamb and clucks his tongue sympathetically. If Eileen's started climbing out windows, best they move her room up a few flights and away from any tree branches.

But hell if he'll point that out to them if they're too damn stupid to figure it out on their own. He's not too sure grounding her was the right idea. He understands why--dungeon's no place for anyone--but she's like to take it as a, "You may no longer associate with your important person," than what it was.

And that was one sure-fire way to make sure she'd just be sneakier next time.

"You never climbed out a window when you were a kid?"

Ab fab. /o/

[lowtohigh]

It's been a long day. A long week, actually, and looking not to get any less long by means of the rest of the week having things thrown roughly at his head by a completely unhappy thirteen-year-old caught up in the ultimate betrayal of him having done his job.

"You know?" He shifts slightly against the door, almost thoughtful for a moment. "I never did. How I got here, I think."

OoooWeeOoo~

[faithfulclub]

Kevin can't stop a ghost, especially one that's been watching his little girl better than the poor guardsman could ever hope to. Which means that in the quiet of the room, Andrew will be hovering, waiting until one of the quieter moments to brush a kiss against the girl's forehead.

There's a whisper of a sigh. "Oh, princess."

likjwedfsws /SCREAMING

[lowtohigh]

She's been sobbing. She's been scarring her door with knives and screaming into her pillow and letting out the pain as best as she knows how.

And now, clearly exhausted, sprawled back on her bed, she's probably hallucinating, because she could swear she hear's Andrew's voice.

He'd be disappointed too, wouldn't he.

A sob bursts from her throat, but the tears don't come.

Forward threaded to after David's return, because we can \o/

[cutslikeaspade]

Ethan sighed exasperation and crossed his arms. "Kevin," he explained patiently, "I made a living killing people Outside. A very good living," he emphasized. "It's a 'Spade thing', fratello." Then his expression hardened.

"I have news for Eileen, not the motherfucking Ace of Clubs, and it's rather personal, so if you don't get the hell out of my way in about two seconds, I'm going to start cuttin' on ya." Blue eyes were flat. "And that'd make me feel bad, really."

He'd had a shit day, his world was teetering on just a few wobbling bricks and he seriously needed to go find a hole and crawl into it after this. Because Ethan had an idea it was going to be...exquisitely painful.

We do what we want. o/

[lowtohigh]

Now, see. Kevin wasn't an unreasonable man. He could be negotiated with. He did, in fact, have Eileen's best interests in mind. He didn't want to be ruining her young life, or breaking her spirits, or punishing her more than was strictly necessary.

And, well. He also knew when a Spade was making a very genuine, real threat that could be avoided by his own actions.

It was probably the quickest he'd jumped to open the door since Elisha came by.

For her own part, Eileen was actually looking up at visitors now. Her brow wrinkled slightly at the expression on Ethan's face, lips pursing together as she carefully set the journal she'd been working on translating for Caleb aside.

[maidenthespade]

"Hello, Kevin." Katya greets the besieged man pleasantly. "I have note here from King Elisha." Some, at least, think to go through channels. "Saying I might speak with your Ace." Note contains more, but he will read that. She prefers to make offer to Eileen herself than let it be overheard.

[lowtohigh]

It's such a completely fantastic relief. Working to keep out the Queen of Spades when he clearly couldn't even manage a Two of Diamonds? Probably not going to happen.

So he'll take the letter gratefully, clutch to it like dear life as he bows the door open.