#* cosette

Which was why the previous night had been so upsetting. Ben thought he knew a thing or two about certain substances, but one taste of the delicacy that Silverbell had gestured towards and he’d very quickly realized that he knew nothing. Everyone else seemed lighter, more free, and the male had been so certain that he would follow suit. But Ben had never felt more weighed down, trapped in a perpetual mist and seeing horrors that he had worked so hard to block out. Water filling his lungs, no one there to help, escaping just to be trapped in a confined space. Distant memories, or perhaps even nightmares, that were never meant to see the light of day were playing out before his eyes, and he was the sole beneficiary.

Yo ho, etc.

 Squinting into the harsh morning light, Ben had barely allowed himself to get up and crack open his door before he was reclining back onto his bed - a pitiful sight for the girl who had just called upon him. Were it any other day Benedict may have attempted to offer some false cheer and charm, a suggestive comment falling from his lips playing off of the fact that he was being sought out in his chambers. However, Ben was too tired, too full of thoughts and feelings to put up the façade. Did Cosette even really need to be presented with one at that point?

“I do not think that I will be able to offer much company today,” he murmured as he let his eyes fall closed. “I do hope your bacchanal was superior to mine.”

@cosette-gothel​​

The night had been almost overwhelming for him, with the finest ladies of Auradon all gathered under one roof. He’d been seated next to an absolute beauty for dinner, and many more had been seated not too far away. He’d done his best to introduce himself to as many as possible, but... so many new opportunities, so little time.

And yet, somehow, as the night had worn on Ben had ended up taking a temporary seat near the refreshments right next to someone who he knew intimately.

“Cosette,” he acknowledge with a tilt of his head, eyes scanning the dance floor as he took a sip of his lemonade. And then another. And then another. He allowed the silence to run on between them as he attempted to come up with something to say.

Alas, his ‘beautiful woman meditation’ had left his head empty, with no thoughts.

“And how are you enjoying Auradon?”

@cosette-gothel​​

She’d lost track of Darien long ago, and had been made to wander the bacchanal alone, aimlessly maneuvering around group after group of partygoers that were a little too something-or-other (flirty, excitable, chatty, etc) until she’d ended up by the food and drink.

She hadn’t stayed planted there for long, having grabbed an odd fruit or two and a glass of what she assumed was something stronger than wine before she’d continued to mingle. But it was halfway through eavesdropping on conversations and being pulled into one or two on her own unexpectedly that the first hint that all was not as it seemed came to her.

A gentleman asked her if she could get him another glass of wine. And she had done it. With no questions asked, no biting retort. It was disturbing. It didn’t even take a second request for her to realize that something was very much amiss with her, and she developed an overwhelming desire to surround herself only with people she trusted. Which meant... one of two people.

Lydia Tremaine was no one’s servant. And luckily she knew just the redhead who could keep her from turning into one.

“My dear Cosette!” she called out as soon as the girl was close enough, her voice loud enough to stop anyone who knew a thing or two about polite society in their tracks. She certainly didn’t want to trap her chosen sister into a conversation, but time was of the essence.

“I fear I’ve been remiss in checking in since our arrival in Auradon. Tell me, my sweet, how have you been?”

@cosette-gothel​