UNFORTUNATE GIRL : professor florence.
Florence slipped a hand to her injured knees and gently attempted to rub away the soreness, though her real focus was on her assistant. Michiko’s hair shifting with her movement reminded her of rippling water, her tired mind started to drift for a moment, thoughts of oceans and hidden depths washing through her.
The tone of a question being put to her pulled her back into more relevant thoughts and she blinked. Field work? Oh yes, that’s right, indeed she was planning on going out for the day tomorrow to observe the pokemon of the nearby forest. Excitement of what she might see and learn began to hum through her but its energy was contradicted by a yawn that forced her jaw to open. She covered mouth and then let out a sigh, lowering her hand and smiling, “Yes, you’re right. We should both get some rest.”
With a gentle push, Florence moved her chair back from her desk and got to her feet. The urge to stretch out her suddenly aching muscles overcame her but she resisted it, promising herself she would do so later instead. She raised her hand to rub her slightly dry eyes and turned, stopping herself from yawning again.
A small communications device on her desk then let out an obnoxiously chirpy sound, prompting her to blink and frown. With a small sigh, she reached over and plucked up the small item, her finger swiping across the screen to check the new message.
Your mother and I are most proud to announce that we have found a perfect match for you! He is very well connected and talented, and most importantly, he is willing to marry you despite your behaviour and he has no issue with the age gap.
We will arrange for you to come back home in two weeks.
Her grip around the device tightened, mirroring the imagined sensation she now had of handcuffs clamping around her wrists. As if to block out everything around her, she closed her eyes for a moment and gradually lowered the technology to the desk. A slow breath was pulled into her lungs, but it did nothing to cool the mix of anger and sick disbelief that was now swirling within her.
It must be a joke, or perhaps a trick of her imagination due to her exhaustion. Yes, her family couldn’t possibly be trying to arrange marriages for her again…Florence sighed and moved away from her desk, offering a small smile to her assistant, “I’ll have my bedtime cup of tea and then get some sleep. Would you like some tea? It’s very soothing.”
Uncharacteristically, she didn’t wait for a response and simply moved around to head through the lab to the door that separated it from the area that was her ‘house’. She pushed through the door swiftly, eager to leave behind the message that was still lit up on the small screen atop her papers.
Despite her apparent focus on the others face all of her actions were registered, including the fact that she seemed to be losing focus as she listened to her speak. A fact that irritated her to no end, she expected people to pay attention when she spoke, but that was understandable given the late hour so she'd let it pass without issue.
Especially when she watched just how wide her mouth opened before she covered the yawn with her hand. Still, the excitement dancing in her eyes was there even as slumber tried to take her over. How the woman had made it so long as an heiress she'd never know, etiquette wise she was perfect, but she had no control over schooling her expression from what she could see and that was odd in itself. How had they not eaten her alive?
Not wanting to consider that right now lest she ask the question outright, she screwed up her face at the loud notification from her comm device. Who on earth would be sending her something so late in the day? Then again, with the time difference between regions, it may not be so late where whoever sent the message lived. Regardless it was taking all her will not to snap the annoying technology, she was already getting a headache.
Surprised at what she could only describe as hostility towards the comm device, she raised an eyebrow and frowned as she watched the woman. Her own expression quickly becoming blank as Florence turned to face her, she was going to decline the tea when she blinked, and the woman was already gone. Looking at her desk, she couldn't help herself, picking up the device she read the message and screwed up her face once more in the illumination of its backlight.
Apparently eating her alive hadn't been too wrong of an assumption and she had an odd feeling of something she hadn't felt in a long time. She may not choose to save her from Team Genesis, but she felt protective enough over Professor Hazel to want to comfort her, a thought that quite frankly horrified her. She couldn't afford emotional connections right now so thinking logically, as always, she came to a conclusion ( no matter how false it was ) that her feelings were simply there because her own job would be more difficult if another professor took Florence's place.
Following her now through to her living quarters she frowned, rubbing a hand over her face before shaking her head a bit. Offering comfort to others wasn't something she often did, but it was apparently about to happen as she eyed the other woman.
"I was thinking earlier about your father, Professor... He's an admirable man, yes? Well, someone as well off as he couldn't simply go around making enemies of his connections at random..."
It was perhaps playing a little dirty to think of the situation this way, showing more of her true colours than she liked, but as her assistant, it was her job to help find solutions to issues. Quite frankly, she wouldn't be surprised if Florence was already following a similar thought process to decline his 'offer'.
"Mr Fitzwalter already attempts to discredit you by saying your family is the only reason you're here, I'm sure your father couldn't attempt to hurt such a connection by taking you away from your responsibilities here. It would be incredibly bad for his reputation and business, wouldn't it?
So, the contract you undoubtedly signed to come here couldn't simply be broken by his influence. Mr Fitzwalter would be furious, he is always staring how he cannot be bought."