burned.

OPHELIA PLUMETTE ---> 31 --> MAID --> ECHO CREEK

Species: Cursed Human Sexuality: Pansexual Pronouns: She/Her Favorite Song: Are You That Somebody? by Aaliyah Big Three: Leo sun, Libra moon, Libra rising

Fifi really felt her heart ache. She wanted to tell Blaise it was all going to be better and that everything was going to fix itself. The truth was, if things were going to get better, Blaise had to put in that hard work to get it there. He had to allow people their space to be upset and he needed to work on himself. She could see his inner turmoil all over his face and that hurt her so. Still, she wanted to help him even though he felt like he couldn’t help himself. “No matter how deep the hole, there’s always light coming out from the top, non?”  She gave him a small smile. “I won’t even pretend. I know how you are feeling. These last few months have felt the most out of body than ever before. I have never felt so lost and so unsure of myself and where to go....but you know what? That is okay. Because I’m working on it. On myself. Change is not something that has to be a do or die situation.”  She felt like she was changing every day. She really did. She felt like even when every vice in the world is at her doorstep and she gives into one or two that she is still growing. She is still trying. Even when it hurts more than she can handle it.

“If the way you are trying now is not working, then you need to try something else,” she said honestly, looking at him. “Hurting people...it is in our nature. But that does not mean it is all we are capable of. Blaise, there is no one in Animania that loves harder than you. That cares for people harder than you. Some will understand, many will not. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t people who will understand it.” She tried to take his hand, being careful to not cross his boundaries and to remain patient with him. “I would not be speaking to you now if you had failed me, Blaise. You hurt me, yes, but without that hurt I wouldn’t be able to be where I am now.”

“Ahh, but you will, and you have in some ways.” Fifi may not fully know the man Blaise was these days, but she knew he was in pain and needed a friend. She couldn’t let her own personal feelings get in the way of the fact that he needed someone to lift him up rather than attack his weak spots. She didn’t even want to attack his weak spots despite her own pain. Her pain was the result of her own doings and she was making peace with that as much as she had been making peace with the fact that her relationship with Blaise would always be different. Different didn’t always mean bad and she needed to really practice what she preached. So if she could sacrifice her own selfish ways for Blaise, than she would truly feel like she was healing herself.

“Life is not easy or simple and things will happen that are not always beautiful,” she said softly, trying to ease his troubled mind the best she could. “That does not mean it will always feel this way. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel and there will always be a way for your heart to heal. Do not give up on it yet. The world...it is not used to the way you love, but that does not mean that there isn’t someone here who doesn’t understand or see you.” She gently coaxed the glass of wine he had out of his hand. She may be pushing it, she knows that, but she wanted to try something out. “If you feel there is something within you that you do not like anymore, the best we can do is try to change it. Find other things to fill those gaps....You are a very talented man, Blaise, there will always be something new for you to experience and to take on with as much passion as you do everything else. You just need to allow yourself to take those risks.” @blaiselumiere

“There’s really not much to say.” Blaise curled his lips into a polite smile before dropping the act all together. He hadn’t been able to get any sleep since Meg left his apartment. The exhaustion and guilt ate him alive, and though he was sorry for the most part for hurting her, the void Meg left behind felt like an open wound across his chest. He couldn’t laugh, and he couldn’t eat at times. Lumiere simply chose to exist, focusing all his energy on letting out the next breath. “You had every reason to lash out at me. I have not changed one bit.” Blaise would even prefer that Fiala push him away, as she did before. She could insult him and degrade him in the most heinous way possible, and he’d probably thank her for making an effort to make him feel. He stood motionless by her side as he looked at the cars passing by, one after another, rushing to get to the next best thing. For Blaise, there was no longer the next best thing. It will always be a meaningless attempt to fill a hole in his soul. “You don’t have to Fi. I don’t deserve your kindness.” He admitted, feeling an itch on his throat begging for relief. Lumiere’s alcohol problems were much worse than before, and he was battling far more difficult repercussions because of them, like messing up a relationship he thought was going to last forever.

“I’ve heard you found a better place. I don’t like Gaston. I’m surprised you can stand him.” He added, trying to swerve the direction of the conversation away from him. Blaise knew Ophelia was too good a person, possibly even too good for the world. She’d listen to him, while he began to narrate the controversy surrounding his name — of affairs, women, and all the chaos that somehow seemed to follow him. He wasn’t heartless to speak about it with someone who he once shared his life with, someone who might have actually been his wife if only the circumstances were right. “For what it’s worth, I’m proud of you. always have, and always will.”

-

Once the curtain had fallen and Blaise let himself show himself, Ophelia felt a little more at peace. Even if he was not alright, she rather him show those broken bits to her than hide them away. For a moment, she just let him talk. She knew he didn’t require her to, but she wanted to. For the first time in a long time she wanted to hear him out. She believed him in the sense where a lot of him has not changed, but at the same time a lot has. She was sure he could not see it, but Fifi did. She saw a lot of things in him he tended to not see in himself. It was why they loved so passionately and fought with just as much passion. She had fought it so hard, the realization that he probably understood her better than anyone else, but now she has settled with it. Sometimes it was fine to be around someone who knew you, even if it broke your heart in the process. “You always say you don’t deserve my kindness, but in reality, you are the one who deserves it the most sometimes.” She gave him the tiniest of smiles. She didn’t want to impose on his hurt too much and she didn’t want him to drown in it either. It was a complicated situation. “Someone needs to know you. Everyone deserves to be known.” 

His subject change was an awkward one, but she didn’t let that show on her face. She knew that Gaston did not like Blaise and she was sure he felt the same way. Still, it was her life, and she was the one who decided what kind of men she allowed into her space. Right now, Blaise had her attention and she wasn’t going to let herself feel bad for that when he needed her more than she knew. “It is a different place. I cannot say it is better. I cannot say it is worse. It is just new and different. Gaston has been a gentleman to me and that is really all I can ask for with a boss.” The opera flashed in her mind for a moment, but she set that memory aside. It wasn’t really the right place or time for that. “I know. I cannot understand that for the life of me sometimes, but I have always known.” She looked away from him for a moment, let the cigarette in her hand fall to the ground. “I cannot say that you don’t slightly deserve some of the consequences of your actions. Everything comes and goes around and it’s not fair, but every interaction means something. I can say, that I am sorry you are feeling the way you feel because...I would never wish heartache on anyone. Especially if it is as intense as my own has been.”

Ophelia wasn’t even sure why she said what she said to him. It wasn’t because of the recent gossip, which was just being brought to light to her now, and it wasn’t because she was drunk or needy or what. She just...had happened to run across Blaise, as she often seemed to do, and felt like speaking to him as they smoked. It seemed like no matter how many times she tried to push him away he always came back to her in some sort of form. Sometimes she did not need it, sometimes she did, and she was getting to the point where she was just going to start rolling with it. 

As she exhaled and the smoke left her lips she took a good look at Blaise. It was clear he was the one troubled right now and her heart did ache for him. It always ached for him, really, but this time was different. She knew he was honestly trying his best and for him to feel like that was not enough hurt her. He was putting up a good front and she respected that but she also knew him and his heart. He was hurting. He would not admit it to her probably, but he was. “I have not read the news, or gossip, non,” she said with a soft tone to her voice. She hadn’t been soft with Blaise in a while and the notion should have felt foreign and yet...it did not. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked curiously, not sure how he was going to respond. He loved the limelight but not like this. She could understand that. “You always say you will be there for me, so let me be here for you for a change of pace. I have not been the kindest to you lately....and I would like to do something good for you if I can.”

Ophelia gave him a small smile. Out of everyone she used to work with, Claude was the one who was giving her the most kindness, and she appreciated it, she really did. “Well, I hope you are lending it out to those you deem worth it,” she said softly. “Love is a tricky thing, is it not? And sure, you don’t have to be talking about love but...how could you not? I wish I could think of anything other than love. Even when I try to tear myself away from it...it always catches up to me in the end. A blue heart is still one that beats, you know.” @claudecogsworth

This was surprisingly one of the easiest conversations he’d ever had with Blaise’s ex. Things had always seemed a little tight between them, but her honesty made their surprise run-in more candid than they’d ever been before. “I think that’s all any of us are doing here, figuring it out,” he assured her, giving a small smile. “Adam’s himself, you know how he is. I should say the same for you. He and I somehow always seem to work things out in the end, you know. We do see eye-to-eye on most things, in friendship and in business. How are things going with you and work?”

-

Ophelia appreciated how much Claude was straight to the point. She missed him and his frazzled way of being. She honestly just missed her old life more than anything. But she knew she couldn’t bare going back to it, even though Adam told her she could if she wished to. Things were just too different now and she was different. “My new job is interesting. Full of pigish men, of course. But I handle myself just fine. I do believe my boss is not someone Adam is very friendly with and I know it’s probably a little wrong of me to work there....but for the first time in a while I feel like I’m being appreciated. Which sounds so ridiculous, I know.” She sighed. “I am glad to hear that things are going alright, though. I will always have a soft spot for that place and the people in it.”

Stubborn. He thought, placing his hands back in his pocket. It was apparent that she had consumed too much that even her pretty face couldn’t hide the sway of her hips and the flutter of her eyes. The act was all too familiar, tres bien. everything that Ophelia had always wanted herself to be perceived as, despite being far from the truth. “Let me at least walk you to your car.” He answered, though he knew he’d probably not let her drive. Blaise took his phone out and sent a text to Claude or Hans, asking if he could at least pick her up from the theater. Lumiere was trying to be more careful with who he hung out with, given that Drizella’s fans had eyes on him everywhere he went. It was ironic, to say the least, how he wanted nothing but a quiet life and yet he was surrounded by women who had their names all up in the lights. His hands tried to guide her, being careful not to touch skin. He stood to follow her quietly for a moment before she came back at him. “I’ll leave once I know you’re settled. It’s night, and you’re alone. Why are you alone?” He asked, regretting it a bit afterward as he didn’t mean to pry.

Once they were out in the parking lot, Blaise was somehow glad he hadn’t had any drinks just yet. He was supposed to go to the bar afterwards to meet Hans, and the coat he was wearing hugged his body comfortably as the cold breeze engulfed them. He looked over at her, apparently unprepared for the occasion. With a sigh, he took his jacket off and placed it on her shoulders. “Don’t even try to swat me off, or you’ll freeze to death.” She was being difficult, as expected. Blaise was used to it by now. “You can’t drive, Ophelia. Can you call someone to pick you up? Or do you want me to drive you?” He was hoping she’d answer the former, his anxious eyes looking around to see if someone had spotted them. He tried to maintain a safe distance, though keeping her on her feet had proven that to be impossible. “Fifi, I can see through you. Stop acting so tough and let me help.”

-

There was nothing Ophelia wanted more than for Blaise to go away. She may be drunk off her ass, but she wanted to keep her dignity in tact to some degree. And whenever he was around, she was a foolish mess. “I do not need you to do that. I got a cab, anyways. I’m not stupid.” She moved away from his touch because it felt like fire and she was tired of being burned. She was tired of being burned by him. His question was like a punch to her gut and she never wanted to cry and scream at someone more. “Why are you here alone?” she snapped back, giving him a serious look. “It doesn’t sound good when it is given back to you, no? So I would not ask me that either.” She was not going to give him a sad answer. Her drunken state turned rageful the moment he tried to be good to her and she was not trying to lash out, but she wasn’t holding back either. She held back all the time. Even with their breakup she held back so much more than she should have. She saved those letters. She was a fool but she wasn’t going to let him see that anymore.

She had tried to go to the lot on her own, but he followed, of course. Putting his jacket on her shoulders when she did not ask, assaulting her with the way he smells and bringing memory upon memory on her without warning. It wasn’t fair. “I will be as difficult as I want to be. I am allowed that.” She shrugged the jacket off and held it out to him. She would rather freeze to death than keep hurting her heart. “I can call another cab and I will be just fine. I am not acting. I do not need your help. I told you....we are not friends. So stop this. Stop trying to keep someone in your life that you shouldn’t. It’s not fair to either of us.”

Fifi had really been trying to heal. After the opera she was feeling bold and had gotten herself tickets to a local play to attend by herself. She really thought she could handle seeing a show on the sidelines but as time grew closer and closer, she had found herself consuming more and more wine. It was a dangerous game, she knew that, but she really needed to try. She had gotten a ride to the show, she had sat in her seat, and she watched it thinking she would be so fine. But as she saw the starlet take the stage, everything went south. She hadn’t realized she had been crying until the curtain went down and after that she had felt like she couldn’t breathe and ran into the bathroom to drink even more from the flask she had hidden in her purse just in case. Seeing her old life being led by someone else was soul crushing. Feeling as lost as she did just made her reopen the same wound and dig her nails into it further. 

She hadn’t left the bathroom until she stopped crying and fixed her makeup, but by that point she could hardly do much without swaying a little bit. She had done her best to wait but she had only been in the bathroom for a few minutes vs the half hour she thought she spent. There were so many people still leaving and then he bumped into her and she once again felt herself stuck. She had hurled some words at him out of a drunken impulse and he noticed right away that she wasn’t quite right. Still she fought to get his hand off her as she stumbled away a little bit, holding her head up in pure stubbornness. “I’m fine,” she said coldly, bending over to pick up her clutch that she had dropped. “The play was so great! It was fucking amazing. Can I go now?”

❧

Her smile was sat in place as she looked to her friend, having missed her company more than she even knew herself. Fifi had always just understood Belle. It was easy when they spent time together and the minutes seemed to fly by. Seeing her again was a relief that she was doing alright, or at least enough to feel comfortable reaching out again. “You always know how to wine and dine me,” she said with a small laugh. “The way to any woman’s heart is through her stomach after all.” Belle couldn’t help herself sometimes, cheese being the direct line to her heart. The smell in the kitchen was a symphony as they walked in and she immediately looked over at her friend. “You’ve made an entire feast. If you proposed right now I’d have no choice but to accept.” Belle’s smile grew as she grabbed a piece of cheese from the board to pop in her mouth. She’d missed this. Sometimes she got caught up in her own life as well, feeling just as guilty for not being around. “You could get any chef a run for their money,” she said giving her a small nudge. “As for me, I’m well for the most part. Keeping busy at the library, probably spending too much time at Adam’s but I can tell he’s needed it lately. He asked me to move in, actually. I think I’m going to accept, as wild as it might sound.” Belle even surprised herself with that one. “Gaston still won’t let up, no matter what I do or say he refuses to take no for an answer. I’m not sure what it takes to get that man to listen,” she said with a sigh, needing another piece of cheese for that one. “Now tell me about you, what have I missed? I must know everything.”

-

“I would hope so. I can’t just let my friend starve! Especially after ghosting her for far too long.” Fifi was always going to feel a little guilt about that. There was no doubt in her mind that she wouldn’t be spending the rest of forever to try and repay Belle for this one incident. It hurt her that she could have hurt her friend. “Are you asking me to propose? I thought you were crazy about that man of yours.” She chuckled as she got herself a plate of food. She would be lying if she said she wasn’t eager to eat. “Could I now? I’ll keep that in mind. Maybe culinary school will be my real passion.” She was joking but she couldn’t help but be a little sad about her own comment. She didn’t know what her passion was anymore and that cut her so deep because she was a passionate person. An artist without a muse. At her news she clapped her hands together. “Aww Belle! You must say yes! That is so romantic, I’m honestly a little jealous.” At the mention of Gaston her eyes widened. She hadn’t told Belle about her boss and she was only just now piecing it all together. “I am so sorry for that....I can tell him to back off. I do work for him now...because I am an idiot and did not connect the dots. He basically gave me a job with no interview.” She sighed. She felt so foolish. “That is mostly what you have missed. Other than the repetitive heartbreak. Oh Belle, I have become rather pathetic, actually. I’m sure your other friends are far more interesting.”

This was probably the first time Ophelia felt like she understood where she stood with Claude. She had ran into him by accident and they had started talking and...Fifi appreciated catching up. She missed her life as it was before the curse and the heartache, she really did. So seeing a familiar face was comforting in this time of confusion. “Thank you, Claude,” she said earnestly. “I appreciate it. I really, really, do. But I’m fine. I’m figuring it out. I can’t say this was anything that I could have seen for myself....but it is what it is. I hope Adam is treating you all well and that things are going good.”

Taking Gaston to the opera was not her first choice, but she didn’t regret it. He was on his best behavior and she was able to get lost in the music and the show in general.  It was nice seeing any kind of show again, really. She couldn’t have been happier to do something that made her feel like herself again. Gaston had no idea how deeply this meant to her and that was fine. She wasn’t ready to talk about it and she wasn’t sure yet if it would fall on deaf ears. She had finally connected the dots that this Gaston was the Gaston that messed with her bestie, but she didn’t want him to know she knew. No, she wanted to get her own answers about his intentions and persistence without being too obvious. It was the least she could do for being so stupid and not connecting the dots sooner. She was sure Belle was the reason she was hired at this point. It sucked that it felt like no one really believed in her for her, but she was growing used to that.

“People are very complicated,” Ophelia mused as they walked. “They have emotions like we do. So of course it isn’t going to be simple. Are you a simple man?” She raised an eyebrow, challenging him to say yes. “Sometimes people don’t want everything in the world. Most of the time all they want is a connection. To know the person they love. To understand. To see if they can work into their lives.” She thought she had that before, she really did. But love was a weird thing; just because someone felt it with every fiber of their being didn’t mean it was a mutual thing. She understood his frustration, but at the same time she knew Belle well enough to know he just was not....the ideal partner for her. “It’s a shame you aren’t. Women love a good romantic.”

Ophelia let out a light laugh. “You know you are supposed to do the same, right?” She didn’t have any issues with Claude. He never did anything to her that hurt her and she understood him staying by his friend through most of it because the two of them weren’t as close, really. She wouldn’t mind starting to get to to know him better though. He was a funny guy at his core, and Fifi did miss some of her old coworkers. “What brought on this bit of wisdom, hmm?” @claudecogsworth

Ophelia raised an eyebrow. “Over what? Are you a romantic, Gaston?” She was teasing him mostly. Truth be told, she really didn’t know much of her boss and especially of his affairs. She knew of the three blondes that followed him around hungrily and she knew that they gave her the dirtiest looks they could when possible. That didn’t mean Gaston was talking about them. “I never pegged you for a piner of all things, if I’m being honest with you. I mean, you seem to take what you want and when you want it for just about everything else. I assumed matters of the heart were the same.” @gastonnlegume