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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Jun 17, 2009 21:31:34 GMT -5
Angelique had a knot in her stomach as she got ready for the funeral. There was a part of her that felt almost as if she were responsible for Roland's death. She'd pulled him off the case against his will, but in trying to work on the case herself, she had failed to give it her full attention. The hassles of being head auror had got in the way, keeping her distracted and unable to work on her own cases. Vincent had not warned her how draining the job could be, and how it could suck up all of her time. Maybe it was just worse now than it had been for him. But whatever the reason, Angelique now knew that she was going to have to stick to doing mostly administrative work, and occasionally helping out on major cases. She could not have any of her own anymore.
It just wasn't fair that Roland had to die for her to realize that.
Entering the cemetary, she cast a look around. The Ferreras were all there, of course, and Riley. She vaguely recognized Geoffrey from the Ministry, but the rest were all unfamiliar. Until she spotted the reporter. Angry, she went straight over to Paige Owen.
"What are you doing here? Can't a family grieve in peace?"
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Post by Paige Owen on Jun 17, 2009 21:51:39 GMT -5
Paige had expected this, of course. She wasn't exactly incognito. Her picture appeared next to every article she wrote about Roland's death. It would certainly look like she was here on business.
But she had a right to be here. She wasn't doing anything wrong. Meeting Angelique's eyes, she held up her hands. "I'm not here on business. I simply want to pay my respects to a good man. Surely there's nothing wrong with that."
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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Jun 17, 2009 23:38:58 GMT -5
Angelique wanted to say no. But it really wasn't her place to do so; she wasn't family. When it came right down to it, the Ferreras could just as easily tell Angelique to get the hell out of there, instead of Paige.
"OK, look," she said. "You just stay out of the way and don't harass anyone, OK? This is a funeral, and the family deserves a little privacy. If I see you interviewing people or taking notes, or being in any way disrespectful, I'll throw you out myself. Got it?"
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Post by Riley Neves on Jun 18, 2009 14:18:52 GMT -5
It was accidental the Riley's eyes traveled over to Angelique and the blonde that left Roland's apartment that night. There was a third person, now, one that Riley definitely recognized. She was the reporter that showed at the warehouse the night Roland was killed. Riley would have been angrier only if it was Kit sitting in the back.
She took her hand from Geoffrey's and made her way back, standing next to Angelique, a fire in her eyes that no one had seen since before Roland's death.
"Get out," she said, making no pretense at a polite request. Harassing Riley was one thing, but if this girl made any moves to talk to his family, heads would roll. She wasn't so solid on her own feet, but she felt a fierce protective streak towards his family. Especially the younger ones.
Her eyes shifted to Nathalia. She so badly wanted to tell her to leave, too, but she couldn't think of a good enough excuse to tell her to leave.
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Post by Paige Owen on Jun 18, 2009 22:57:34 GMT -5
Paige let out a soft sigh. She'd hardly expected to be welcomed with open arms. And frankly, she rather expected that it would be Ms. Neves that would be the one to kick her out. She didn't want to make a scene, but she did have a right to be here.
"Ms. Neves, please. I'm not here on business, and I have no intentions of interviewing anyone or taking notes. I'm just here to pay my respects. I met Roland, two years ago. That's why this story is so important to me. But I'm not reporting today, I promise."
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Post by Riley Neves on Jun 18, 2009 23:26:47 GMT -5
"You met him two years ago?" Riley repeated. She really didn't have a right to be so angry towards the reporter, but she needed to be angry at someone, and she just fit the bill. So did the blonde next to her, looking like she was about to butt it. Riley would really let her have it if she did.
"And what, that makes you his best friend? And it has nothing to do with the fact that every time something happens regarding his death, you seem to publish it first?"
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Post by Nathalia Webb on Jun 18, 2009 23:29:23 GMT -5
"Riley," Nathalia said, unwisely. "She doesn't even have a notepad with her, and she was sitting here pretty quietly..."
She trailed off, unsure of what else to say. It just wasn't fair that they were ganging up on Paige.
"Roland was a good guy. He made friends easily, and some of us want to say goodbye. That's all."
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Post by Paige Owen on Jun 19, 2009 0:10:48 GMT -5
Paige gave a slight smile at the blonde. Her sharp reporter's mind had already pegged the girl as being another girl Roland had been with, but her comments cemented it in her mind. Surely she understood.
"I'll leave, if you insist, because I don't want to create a scene. No, Roland was not my best friend--he probably didn't even remember me. But he was a good man, and I liked him a lot."
There were other things she could have said, but his funeral was hardly the place.
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Post by Nathalia Webb on Jun 19, 2009 0:15:56 GMT -5
Nathalia put a hand on the brunette's arm. "No, stay," she said, though her eyes were on Riley. While her look was soft, her words were firm. "You have every right to be here, Paige."
She was waiting for either the other woman to step in, or for Riley to try to kick her out, too. She wasn't going to budge, though. Roland was her friend as well. They were all grieving, and Riley didn't have the monopoly on sorrow.
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Post by Riley Neves on Jun 19, 2009 0:20:58 GMT -5
Riley was quiet for a moment, her eyes shifting between the two girls. She was smart, and she was picking up on things. The way they spoke about Roland, the way they both took seats in the back like they knew they didn't belong here. They even had similar facial structures.
Roland had slept with Paige. It was painfully obvious to her, and she wanted to be sick. It seemed so unfair that all these girls knew Roland intimately, and Riley spent all her time pushing him away.
"I'll be sure and let everyone know his whoring section is here."
She knew it was his funeral, and she shouldn't make a scene, so she was quiet enough that only the two girls and Angelique would hear her. But she was just so angry...
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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Jun 19, 2009 0:29:33 GMT -5
Angelique had stood back and let Riley handle the situation as she saw fit. Merlin knew, the girl had been through hell, and she was entitled to unleash a little of that pain on someone. Besides, Angelique still thought it wildly inappropriate that the reporter dared to show up here and refused to leave when asked.
But at this last bit, she realized it had gone on long enough. Riley was getting angry, and the two women were remaining calm. So if there was a scene, it would be Riley that caused it.
"Riley... come on. Let's just take a seat, OK? They're not bothering anyone back here." She shot a look at Paige, reminding her that any attempts to talk to any of the mourners would change the situation completely.
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Post by Riley Neves on Jun 19, 2009 0:43:00 GMT -5
But they were bothering someone. They were bothering her. Just them being here, like a team of Roland's one night stands, ate at her in a way she couldn't even describe. These girls shared something precious with Roland, and she was beyond jealous.
Granted, she didn't have anything more than a strong hunch that the reporter was one of Roland's flings, but it was enough for her.
She didn't move for a moment, and her eyes welled up.
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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Jun 19, 2009 1:06:48 GMT -5
Angelique could hardly blame Riley for being angry at the two women, but this wasn't their fault. She'd suspected, almost from the very beginning, that there was an attraction building between Riley and Roland. And she didn't know or care to know just how far it had gone between them, but, like everyone else, she had been watching Riley carefully to see how she was handling his death. And the answer was, not well. She was as lost as she would have been if they had been a couple. Which probably meant that they'd at least come close.
And if she had feelings for Roland, it couldn't be easy to see his past conquests here at his funeral.
Still, they had a right to be there. And this wasn't helping Riley at all.
She put an arm around Riley's shoulders. "Come on. Let's just sit down, OK?"
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Post by Mathieu Ferrera on Jun 21, 2009 15:07:37 GMT -5
Mathieu, still standing stiff and silent next to his brother saw Riley and Angelique yelling at the two women in the back. He was too far away to hear what was being said, and he had not read any of the articles in the Prophet about Roland's death, so he had no idea who Paige was. And he really didn't care. He was torn between feeling grateful to anyone who cared enough about Roland to attend his funeral, and hating everyone around him because he really just wanted to be alone.
So he watched dispassionately and hoped this would all be over soon.
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Post by Riley Neves on Jun 21, 2009 17:37:30 GMT -5
Riley finally backed down, allowing Angelique to lead her away. She wanted so badly to scream at the two of them. How dare they come here just to rub it in her face that they had something with Roland that she would never be able to?
Deep down, she knew that wasn't why they were here, but she felt sick all the same. Merlin, she just missed him.
"I'm supposed to sit with Geoffrey and Hayden," she said quietly, not apologizing for her behavior.
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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Jun 21, 2009 21:04:39 GMT -5
Angelique wasn't expecting an apology. The truth was, Angelique knew perfectly well that, had it been her, she probably would have acted the exact same way. In fact, she probably would have been worse, and made a scene. She'd never exactly been one to hold her tongue in such situations.
"OK, that's fine," Angelique said. "I'll just take you to them."
She only vaguely knew who Geoffrey was, since he didn't work in her department. But she knew Hayden, and it was Hayden she went to. She didn't say anything to him, but her eyes begged him to take care of Riley. It seemed to Angelique that Riley was coming apart at the seams.
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Post by Hayden Ferrera on Jun 23, 2009 14:27:54 GMT -5
He glanced in the direction Riley went, but Hayden didn't move. Angelique was there, and he was sort of scared to leave Cara's side at the moment. Cara seemed distant, but Mathieu seemed even more so. Having one arm around Cara, he gave her a side hug again. His eyes traveled to the empty coffin in front of them. Hayden cleared his throat lightly and gave a yawn to try and help prevent himself from crying.
As Angelique walked up, he had rested both elbows on his knees. "Hey Angelique," he said gently. Being the observer he usually felt like he was, he could read the look then motioned at the empty chair beside him. "Come on and sit Riley," he said, "I saved the chair for you."
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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Jun 23, 2009 18:50:57 GMT -5
Angelique released a breath. This was really just the saddest thing she'd ever seen. A whole family was devastated, Riley was crushed... it wasn't fair. She wished there was something she could do to help, but there really wasn't. She'd told all of the members of the Ferrera family that they could take a leave of absence for as long as long as they needed, and that was really all she could do.
Now that Riley was with Hayden, Angelique left her with him and turned to sit with a few other Ministry employees.
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Post by Riley Neves on Jun 23, 2009 19:04:00 GMT -5
Riley simply nodded, slowly sitting in the seat next to Hayden. She glanced around for Geoffrey, who was just a few bodies away, mourning with the family. She had no right...
She took a deep breath and turned her eyes to the empty coffin, staring hard at it, as if Roland would just materialize if she thought long enough and hard enough about it. I need you, she thought, hoping that somewhere, he could hear her and he would come back to her.
A man in black cleared his throat, and it may as well have been the crack of a curse, the way it made Riley flinch. He urged them to take their seats.
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Post by Blake Malfoy on Jun 23, 2009 19:39:08 GMT -5
At that moment, almost as if specifically timed in order to get the maximum amount of attention drawn to him, Blake Malfoy entered. Emelia was at his side, and she looked appropriately sad. Blake, meanwhile, was dressed all in black, but his sad expression looked fake and insincere. In fact, to anyone who looked closely enough, they would see he was just barely hiding a vague smirk.
He walked up to where the family was seated. "My deepest condolences," he said.
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