You And Me And One Spotlight [Tag Maddie]

[theowood]

It was weird, wandering around Merton alone. He'd never done it before, almost always attached to his twin's hip, and it bothered him slightly that his brother wasn't at least in his field of sight. They'd only been walking away from their last job (a mere patch up, barely worth more than five minutes time but, and he was a little ashamed to admit it, a bit of bickering on his part with the house owner meant it had taken an hour for them to even start. Like they could afford to do it for free!), and now Nathaniel had upped and vanished, as if whisked away by the wind! He supposed his brother had seen a pretty girl or something and conveniently forgotten to tell Theo so he could have the lass all to himself.

Charming, that.

And of course, Theo, who had been in mid rant about pointless jobs and difficult farmers, had carried on talking to himself until he realised that his twin wasn't next to him, and didn't he feel embarrassed about that? Thankfully, there was no one about, or if there were, they were doing just as good a job as Nate at hiding from him, so his embarrassment was contained. It wouldn't do to let anyone hear that he talked to himself – he'd never get work again, let alone the amount of teasing he'd have to endure from both of his brothers...

Sighing a little, he realised he couldn't even go to the bakery to buy some bread for the family's supper, as Nate had been designated Official Money Handler, seeing as last time Theo had looked after their earnings, it had been snatched right out of his hands as he'd been distracted by an overly friendly dog (he always claimed afterwards that the dog was actually attacking him, and Nathaniel always happily corrected him).

With nothing to do and nowhere to go, Theodore found himself feel a little bit lost. He couldn't very well just bugger off home without his twin – despite the fact they were old enough to look after themselves, his mother would still kill him, and besides, he'd feel bad about going off and leaving Nate in Merton on his own. Not that his brother worried about such trivialities, apparently. (No, Theo was going to keep hold of this grudge for a few days. He didn't like being alone.) He looked up at the sky – a murky grey, promising summer showers, thunder and lightning – and groaned a little to himself.

”What do people do for fun around here?” Without people around to harass, what the heck was he supposed to do?

[ladymadeline]

[/i] she heard someone ask. A small smile flickered across her shadowed face. ”Wish I could tell you.” she admitted softly, crossing her arms across her bosom, not looking up, as she was pretty sure that whoever it was who had spoken would simply walk on.
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[theowood]

”Wish I could tell you.”

Theodore was a little startled that someone had answered him and jumped, turning round to find himself face to face... well, face to hood... with a feminine figure. It took him a moment to recover and realise that a girl, hopefully a pretty girl, was standing in front of him, arms crossed, and was that amusement in her voice or was he imagining it? Probably the latter, he heard amusement and sarcasm in everything. It was clearly a way of life for him.

He relaxed visibly and let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. He laughed a little and rubbed the back of his head – hopefully she hadn't noticed he'd jumped and therefore think he was a complete idiot. ”Not from around here either then, eh?” he asked, rather stupidly really he realised afterwards – if she didn't know what went on, of course she wasn't from Merton! It didn't exactly require enough brains to run the country in order to figure that one out, did it? He walked over to her, she was only a short distance away, and waved a hand in greeting.

”So what's a pretty thing like you doing wandering around a place like this all by yourself?” he asked, hoping that didn't sound too creepy. And okay, so he couldn't actually see her face, she seemed to be deliberately not looking at him, but it was always good to compliment a girl, right? He wondered if she had time to stop to talk to him, or if she was one of those snobbish types who just wandered off and would ignore him. Of course, if she'd replied in the first place, as she had, then she probably wasn't that type. He could hear some people bustling around inside the house she was standing next to, and realised that everyone was at home. It wasn't that late in the day, was it? Oh, he didn't know – his sense of time was terrible, really terrible.

[ladymadeline]

[/i] She smiled with amusement, chuckling to herself underneath the protection of her hood. “No, I’m not.” she admitted, brushing a strand of loose hair out of her face. She shrugged slightly, not really noticing that he had waved at her – she couldn’t see, after all.

”Actually I’m not from anywhere near here.” she added as an afterthought – she didn’t know how far she had walked that morning, but she had walked for a long, long time, which let her know that more than likely, she had also walked at least a rather moderate distance away from her families manor. She was actually surprised that her brother hadn’t been sent out to go search for her.

”So what's a pretty thing like you doing wandering around a place like this all by yourself?” Madeline chuckled to herself. ”Exploring as best I can. Even if I’m not really supposed to be.” She said simply. And she did – she would love to go around and do things, fun, fascinating things that she wouldn’t have been allowed to do at home. Or at least, not without permission and supervision – she would have her brother or one of her sisters either to be sent after her to keep a good, close watch on her. And it annoyed her to her wits end. Madeline reached up, pulling her hood from off of her face, and shaking her hair from her eyes and looking in the general direction from which she had heard him speaking with a slight smile.
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[theowood]

”Where you from then?” he asked, being a bit nosey and watching as she wiped the strand from her face. Was it just him, or did she seem a little bit shy? Well, strange people, new places, all that sort of thing. Not that he knew if she'd been here before or not – he was just assuming. He was interested, though – he thought he knew most faces in the nearby villages, and he didn't recognise her from her voice or her clothes, so maybe she'd moved to Nottingham recently. If that was true, he felt sorry for her. It wasn't a good time to be arriving in Nottingham.

”Not supposed to be exploring?” Theo exclaimed, slightly melodramatic in tone. ”But exploring is the most fun a person can have! Well, apart from sleeping,” he added, looking up in a thoughtful manner. Maybe that was just him, he was really rather lazy. If he could get someone else to do his work for him, well... Who was he to say no? He figured from her answer that, wherever she lived, it really couldn't be that close – you didn't explore areas that you knew well. Before he knew what he was doing, he was grinning and speaking again.

”Would you care to explore with me?” he asked, offering his arm out to her. ”It's always more fun to explore with someone else.” He stopped for a moment and lowered his arm, shaking his head. ”God, I'm an idiot. Sorry, Theodore Wood, at your service, milday,” he introduced himself, giving an overly flowery bow. He looked back up to find her having shed her hood, and was rather pleased that he'd called her pretty before. ”See, now, I was right! You're a real flower, you are.” Not the most romantic language ever, but he was only a thatcher. What did people expect?

[ladymadeline]

[/i] She heard him ask, and smirked slightly to herself. ”Oh, you know. Here and there. Over hill, over dale, through a bush, through a briar. I do wander everywhere.” she said with a slight smile – yes, she was being vague. But she found that vagueness was also rather intriguing, and sometimes even, it could be so considered witty. And plus – she couldn’t exactly have anyone knowing that she had, more or less, run away from home.

”Not supposed to be exploring?” Madeline laughed. ”No, I’m not supposed to be.” she agreed with a smile. ”But exploring is the most fun a person can have! Well, apart from sleeping,” Madeline smiled. ”I wouldn’t know. If I want to explore, I have to sneak my way around to do it.” she admitted truthfully – her father was very strict when it came to her about this.

”Would you care to explore with me?” she heard him ask. ”It's always more fun to explore with someone else.” Madeline smiled slightly. ”God, I'm an idiot. Sorry, Theodore Wood, at your service, milday,” She nodded her head slightly. ”Well then it’s a pleasure to meet you, Theodore. M’names Madeline. Madeline Addamson.” she introduced herself, purposely leaving out her title. She could careless for it. ”See, now, I was right! You're a real flower, you are.” Madeline laughed as he said this. ”Am I then? Well then, do tell, if you had to say, what flower would you name me ask?” she asked amusedly, blinking, and looking in his general direction, though her gaze slipped just past him.
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[theowood]

Ooh, she was a bit odd, wasn't she? He smirked – if she wanted to play it that way, then fine. He could be mysterious too. Or, well, he could try. He wasn't so good at mysterious, really – he left that to other people and just remained fairly blunt. He wondered where she really was from – maybe she'd spill it later, slip up when talking. He could keep her going for a while, at any rate. It was always fairly simple to get Theodore stubbornly determined to do something – just don't tell him what he wants to know. He was far too nosey for his own good, and had now decided, privately, that his mission was to find out exactly who she was. She could be an escaped convict for all he knew, though he doubted it.

”Well, Miss Hill and Dale, I think you must have managed to sneak away from your roaming home, because I can't see anyone looking for an angel, although maybe they're hiding so they can catch you unawares.” Oh, he didn't... No. Yes, he did... He cringed a little, opening one eye and smiling apologetically. ”Sorry, that was bad. I promise, no more bad lines.”

Now that he could see her face, he was a little weirded out by the fact that she wasn't really... Well, looking at him. More past him. He shrugged it off. Maybe she didn't like looking at people's faces? The crazy old woman in Nettlestone would only look at the trees when she spoke to you. Or maybe Madeline found something interesting to look at behind him? Maybe it was Nate – people tended to stare at one or the other of them if they were both there. He resisted the urge to look round and see what was there, not wanting to be too rude. He was glad he could make her laugh, though. He put a hand on his chin, thinking carefully.

”What flower would you be? Well, that's a difficult question, Madeline Addamson,” he replied, looking around as if for inspiration. Well, he needed it – he didn't know many kinds of flowers. ”I could call you a rose, but that's used too much...” He pretended to scrutinise her closely, and smiled when he thought of something. ”I think you're a daisy. Daisies are my favourite flower. Understated but elegant.”

[ladymadeline]

[/i] Madeline blushed a rose-red and chuckled slightly. ”I’m flattered.” she said with a smile, leaning her head against the wall behind her once more. ”Sorry, that was bad. I promise, no more bad lines.” Maddie smiled slightly. ”I don’t mind them – no one speaks to me like that, really.” she admitted. Actually, no one really spoke to her at all, as a matter of fact.

She managed a smile. ”What flower would you be? Well, that's a difficult question, Madeline Addamson,” Maddie brushed her hair from her eyes – it was beginning to fall down, and she knew if she were caught with her hair down that woul be a problem. Sometimes she hated how it was so thick – it just wouldn’t say up. ”I could call you a rose, but that’s used too much…” she smiled. ”I think you're a daisy. Daisies are my favourite flower. Understated but elegant.” Madeline smoothed out her skirts. ”A daisy – daisies are my favorites too. I would give you a flower, though I’m afraid I can’t see so as to name you one.”
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[theowood]

Well, at least she'd taken it well. Nate would have probably killed him for that line, so he made a mental note to not tell his brother that he'd said it. And she was really cute when she blushed. It contrasted well. He was surprised to hear her say that no one talked to her like that – maybe people where she came from were just less blunt than he was? ”Really?” he asked, just having to clarify. ”Why wouldn't people want to talk to you? You seem nice enough to me. Are you not telling me something?” He grinned a cheesy smile. ”You don't bite do you?” he teased.
Theodore beamed at her a bit more. ”See, we're gonna get on great. We clearly like the same things, if we both like daisies.” He sounded like such a girl right now, it was ridiculous, but still. At least there were talking still. He blanked for a moment, blinked, and then made the most unpleasant noise ever.

”Youwha?” he asked, one eyebrow raising up high. Did she just say she couldn't see? Was it her fringe? Theodore wasn't usually this dumb, but he'd never encountered a blind person before and so he had no idea what she really meant. It was a little beyond his imagination. He took another step closer and brushed her fringe out of her eyes, holding it back against her head and smiling down at her. ”Is that any better?”

Did he actually want to be compared to a flower, anyway? Oh well, it meant he got a bit closer to her, that was alright then.

[ladymadeline]

[/i] Madeline gave a slight shrug of the shoulders. ”You sound so surprised.” she said, actually somewhat surprised – most people wouldn’t be surprised by that. ”Why wouldn't people want to talk to you? You seem nice enough to me. Are you not telling me something?” Madeline looked slightly pleased. ”Well I’m glad you think so. And people don’t talk to me because they feel uncomfortable around me most of the time. And if there were something I weren’t saying, would I be not saying it now, or would I be saying something that I’m not saying?” she said, then grinned.

”You don’t bite do you?” she smirked slightly. ”Well…” she said slowly, the joke evident in her voice. She chuckled. ”Nah, I don’t bite. Promise.” she said with a smile. ”See, we're gonna get on great. We clearly like the same things, if we both like daisies.” Madeline nodded. ”Daisies and daffodil’s have been my favorite since I was little.” she admitted with a smile – her mother used to let her sit with flowers in the room, and she recognized most of the smells.

”Youwha?” She shrugged. It wasn’t a big deal to her first and foremost – it started to sting when people poked and prodded about the subject. She felt him move forward and brush the fringe of hair from her eyes. ”Is that any better?” Madeline smiled sweetly. ”M’afraid not, m’dear. I’m blind. I haven’t been able to see since the day I was born.” she admitted gently.
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[theowood]

”You just struck me as the social type,” he replied, not really thinking. Most of the girls he knew were the social type, so he just expected it these days. He shrugged in reply. ”Can't see why they'd be uncomfortable with you, you're great. What's the problem?” He'd never really understand other people. He definitely didn't like the people from where Madeline was from, they were obviously complete gits. He nearly went cross eyed as he tried to follow Madeline's rather confusing statement, and ended up laughing as he figured it out.

”Well, if you said it then I wouldn't have to worry about something you hadn't said, but then if you did say it then it wouldn't be a surprise, I guess!” That statement even confused himself, but he shrugged it off. He was allowed to confuse himself, as long as Madeline didn't catch him on it.

”And now I don't even have to worry about getting bitten. This is great!” he exclaimed.
Theodore let his hand drop slowly, looking down at Madeline's still unfocused eyes. Well, that was... interesting... She couldn't see anything? How did that... even work? Theodore tried to think of what that would be like, and he couldn't imagine it. All he could see when he thought of such a thing was black – would she even know what black was, if she had been blind since the day she was born? Or what a daisy looked like? Did she know how she looked, could she picture it? It was all a little bit... mind-boggling. He shook his head and smiled again, forgetting for a moment that she couldn't see it.

”Then you're clearly more impressive than I first thought,” he replied, offering his arm to her once again. What did it matter if she couldn't see? Okay, so it scared him a little bit, but he'd deal with it. She seemed friendly enough, she clearly wasn't a witch or anything like that (far too young and beautiful), and he liked her already. He realised that she wouldn't be able to tell his arm was there, and wondered what to do. ”Is it okay if I take your arm? We could wander down by the woods or something, if you like flowers. I think I saw some bluebells on my way here.”

[ladymadeline]

[/i] She smiled slightly. ”I’m afraid I’m not really allowed outside long enough to be considered the social type.” she admitted. And she wasn’t –of course people had heard of her, they had see her around before, where she was at – but as she was always under constant surveillance, no one ever talked to her, either because they were intimidated by her guard, or they felt uncomfortable talking to the young blind girl.

”Can’t see why they’d be uncomfortable with you, you’re great. What’s the problem?” she heard him ask. She looked mildly thoughtful. ”Well, my father likes to make sure I’m well looked after, so I’m usually, if not always, under the careful, close eye of my brother. They watch me like a hawk. I suppose it can be rather intimidating, most of the time.” she explained.

”Well, if you said it then I wouldn't have to worry about something you hadn't said, but then if you did say it then it wouldn't be a surprise, I guess!” Madeline laughed. ”See there, that makes perfect sense.” she agreed with a slight grin. On the topic of her site, that was possibly what had always annoyed Madeline the most – she had never seen herself. Most people knew what color their hair was, or what color their eyes were – Madeline did not know either. She had always been much too embarrassed to ask anyone she knew. Really – how mad would it sound if she asked someone what she looked like? Very.

”Then you're clearly more impressive than I first thought,” She managed a smile. ”Why would you say that?” she asked with a slight smile – no one had ever exactly drawn that conclusion from her condition. ”Is it okay if I take your arm? We could wander down by the woods or something, if you like flowers. I think I saw some bluebells on my way here.” Madeline smiled. ”Yes, it’s fine. I should imagine I’d like that.” she agreed – if she was going to explore, she was going to do it properly.
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[theowood]

”Ah, hence the sneakery,” he nodded sagely as he took her arm, letting her start to walk first so he didn't make her trip over or something. It was better if she set the pace – he had much longer legs and everything, after all. He wondered for a moment just how she had managed to sneak out if her father kept such a close eye on her, but thought better of asking. ”So, your brother hasn't noticed you've gone missing?” he asked, figuring that she couldn't have gone too far without her family noticing, and then there was the fact that she made it here unharmed... That in itself was a miracle, if she was a fair distance away.

”Why does that make you more impressive?” he asked, wondering if that was what she meant. ”Well, you can take care of yourself – Nottingham's got more outlaws than peasants, I reckon sometimes, and you don't look like you've been robbed. You're not shy and withdrawn. You don't rely on other people to do things for you – you're out walking by yourself, anyway. You're adventurous, I 'spose. I reckon I'd probably hide myself away, if I couldn't see nothing,” he admitted, fully aware that he wasn't particularly brave. He was still finding it difficult to think of what it would be like. ”It would be too weird, wondering what it was everyone else was seeing when I couldn't. I think I'd go insane.”

He shook his head and nudged Madeline to the right. ”This way.” He'd gone quiet, thinking about it. Would she even want to talk about it? He did think it must be a strength, to want to go out by yourself, to not want to be protected like she clearly didn't – he really wasn't lying when he said he'd be hiding somewhere all day, every day. ”Right, bluebells this way, ma'am!”

[ladymadeline]

[/i] She nodded as he took her arm, starting off at her usual moderate pace. She may not have been allowed outside for long, but that hadn't stopped her from sneaking out before, and certainly wasn't going to stop her from sneaking out again at some point -- if she was driven enough, she would do it. That seemed to be the effect of her curiosity, though it was easily countered by the fact that once she was there, she tended to be much more careful with what she did between her words and actions. Still, all the same.

”So, your brother hasn't noticed you've gone missing?” A small smirk flickered across Madeline's face. "Well, if he has, he hasn't come to find me yet - I don't hear him charging in from anywhere to grab me by my ear and pull me away." she agreed with a small amount of satisfaction - bamboozling her brother. She had yet to fnd better entertainment than that. "I do love him, but... he's got such pride you see. And between the fact that he can't find his sixteen year old blind sister and the fact that she managed to get so far away is going to leave a rather large bruise on his pride. He'll be very cross with me when he finds me." she added as an afterthought.

”Why does that make you more impressive?” Madeline nodded again. ”Well, you can take care of yourself – Nottingham's got more outlaws than peasants, I reckon sometimes, and you don't look like you've been robbed. You're not shy and withdrawn. You don't rely on other people to do things for you – you're out walking by yourself, anyway. You're adventurous, I 'spose. I reckon I'd probably hide myself away, if I couldn't see nothing,” A small smile flickered across her face.

"I am adventurous, yes. And curious. And creative. And if you ask my father, the biggest handful of work you'll ever have to deal with. But still, I can just as easily be the opposite. It's usually a show I'll admit that, but I'm easily hurt, you see. Bruises and bumps and scratches and scars - I get them all with ease. Sometimes I have to be withdrawn just to keep from hurting myself," she began, running her tongue across her bottom lip to wet it - she hated it when her mouth went dry. "And I don't believe in letting people do everything for me. I can't see, yeah I know. But... that doesn't mean I'm useless or anything." she continued - the thought had crossed her mind before: was she useless? And since then she had decidedly chosen to prove that she wasn't.

"As for the outlaws... I don't think even if I had been robbed that it would look like I had been - didn't have much on me to begin with, see." she added with a slight smile. ”It would be too weird, wondering what it was everyone else was seeing when I couldn't. I think I'd go insane.” Madeline nodded. "There are days where I find myself thinking the same thing. I mean, it's not just what's around me that I can't see. Its who I'm speaking to, or even the little things like a flower on a windowsill or a bell above the door. I don't even know..." she said, pausing and deciding whether or not she felt like embarassing herself for that day. "I dunno what I look ilke. I mean, it's not like I could just look in a mirror." she added as an afterthought, shaking her head.

She felt him nudge her gently to the right. ”This way.” She nodded, following off in the direction he had directed her. She supposed that perhaps she would hide herself away on the days where she just couldn't stand it. Yeah, she probably would just lock herself in her oom, crawl under the covers and lay there. She may not be able to see, but that didn't mean she couldn't cry. Other than that. No. She was tired of people deeming her as useless. So useless she would not be. ”Right, bluebells this way, ma'am!” She chuckled to herself slightly.[/size][/ul]