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myxcenterxstage · 6 years ago

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v: Sail On :: PROLOGUE :: “The Scandal”

(v.2)

Philbert Winston :: Priscilla Kimbleton :: Edmund Staunton

These violent delights have violent ends. And in their triumph die, like fire and powder, Which, as they kiss, consume.

- Romeo & Juliet, act ii scene vi

Priscilla Kimbleton is an independent, brilliant young woman enamored by life’s beauty in both its natural habitat and people. An avid reader and natural historian, she was raised in her adolescent years by her explorer-archeologist Uncle, Charles H. Kimbleton. When she was old enough to accompany him on his expeditions, she took to adventuring the globe like a fish to water, awe-struck with the world and oceans that laid outside England’s shores. [see more here!]

Tragedy struck when Charles left for an emergency expedition notice while Priscilla was still in southern France visiting her Grandmother Cecelia. When Priscilla returned to London, Charles wasn’t home. But she saw his letter stating he’d return before the end of the month. So she waited for his return.

And she waited.

And waited.

Uncle Charles never returned home.

Riddled with concern, Priscilla wrote to her influential Uncle Thomas Kimbleton (Charles’ younger brother), urging to send search parties. The search was conducted, but with no discovery as to whatever became of Charles. They returned with only his incomplete journals and some personal belongings left behind at the campsite. Unable to discern his whereabouts based on his journal’s last entry, he was presumed dead, potentially from mutiny or the dangers of the area. Priscilla was grief-stricken and mourned for her Uncle greatly.

~*~

To aid her ailing bereavement, Priscilla’s family urged her to attend fashionable society gatherings. Marriage was also strongly encouraged upon her.

Disinterested, Priscilla begins planning for her next expedition to continue her Uncle’s work without delay. Someplace far away from where they last traveled. Someplace they had yet to discover: The Americas.

But until that plan could be set in motion, she had to retrieve the rest of her Uncle’s journals from his dormant campsites in Egypt and Italy. It was a small but triumphant venture.

When she returned home, she was in for a totally different surprise. Unbeknownst to her and without her consent she was betrothed in an arranged marriage. All thanks to her Uncle Thomas, she was to be wed to the wealthy business owner, Philbert Winston - someone she had never even met.

Upon (finally) meeting Philbert, Priscilla objects more vocally. Philbert was much older than her, well-educated but bland, expected her to behave as a traditional housewife, and had zero regards for the outdoors or travel - let alone her expeditions. Uncle Thomas lectured her about how dangerous the world really is and for concern of her safety and urges her to put away her sketchbooks and nature journals and wanderlust - and to instead focus on her duty as a proper woman of London society. Distressed, Priscilla leaves, reminding Thomas that her duty is to follow Uncle Charles’ legacy and the work they began together... whether he or Philbert like it or not.

Regardless of her vocal objections, Priscilla is still bound to the impending marriage. She tries to console herself she could learn to love Philbert. But his relentless imploring she leave her travels and expeditions to the ‘gentlmen’ and the ‘professionals’ makes her personal happiness with him even more unlikely.

Before she could lament her life’s gilded cage further, Priscilla meets a young man at the library while she was purchasing books on Atlantic Ocean marine biology. The man was Edmund Staunton, a son of the gentry. Edmund was a loose cannon, and while not officially an adventurer, his passion for the unexpected and thrill was contagious. This reminded Priscilla of the expedition to the Americas she wanted to plan before her engagement threw it all off course. Edmund expresses his wishes to accompany and assist her with preparations, and Priscilla agrees.

~*~

Edmund was more frequently found in Priscilla’s company, as she was back in her element and shared her dreams and adventures with someone who could relate. She felt that she could trust him.

Things seemed to be getting better for Priscilla - or so she thought. The voyage to the Americas was soon to be a reality. She even somehow managed to convince her fiance to postpone their wedding until after her return.

However, over time, Edmund’s affections for Priscilla became more apparent. Until one day he passionately announced them when they were privately in her study one evening. To Priscilla’s displeasure, she expressed she was already engaged and must accept her pitiful fate. Edmund confronts her denial and his knowing of her secretly harboring affections for him as well. Priscilla asks that he leaves. Persisting, Edmund proposes they elope.

Priscilla found herself in the center of a whirlwind love triangle.

Declining to do something so scandalous, Priscilla declares he’s no longer a part of the expedition and insists they never see each other again. Edmund questions why she’d purposely put herself through something so miserable and she should confess her true feelings. Amidst it being so apparent, Priscilla lashes back how unfair it is what she’s going through and he’s only making things worse. Angrily, Priscilla turns and leaves. But when she opens the door...

It was Philbert!

Philbert expresses he heard everything and had been suspecting their affair for weeks. Due to her naivete, Priscilla didn’t realize her fiance’s paranoia this entire time since he first saw Edmund and Pris together in the same room. With a clean conscience, Priscilla tries appeasing Philbert, denying there ever being an affair. But it is all in vain against Philbert’s blind fury.

Disaster ensues. And in the heated three-way argument, Edmund chivalrously challenges Philbert to a pistol duel for Priscilla’s hand in marriage. The two men agree to duel at dawn, while Priscilla is to remain home until one of them returns for her.

In brutal humiliation and helplessness, Priscilla obeys, frustratingly looking over the preparations for her final expedition. She can’t live like this any longer.

~*~

10 Paces. Fire.

~*~

The following morning, Priscilla is awoken from a loud knock at the front door. The man standing there was Philbert. Philbert explains he won the duel - Edmund lived, but was literally given a warning shot and a bullet to the arm as a reminder to stay away from her. Priscilla was still too shaken from the events to speak much more than expressing how glad she was Philbert was still alive. Philbert only nodded and left.

This was a scandal.

Caught in the crossfire, Priscilla knew this would soon turn into a conflagration of furious gossip. Society - and even her own family - would only see her as the unfaithful bride-to-be. Her reputation would be tarnished. The only thing she didn’t understand was why Philbert still wanted to go through with the marriage - was it out of pity? control? or spite? She sensed him grow colder than usual to her - whatever hope she had of finding common ground with Philbert was certainly now doomed to be loveless after this fiasco. She had to leave... while she still could before Philbert possibly changed his mind.

~*~

At that time, Priscilla’s only support was her Uncle’ Charles butler Ferdie. Ferdie sympathized with Priscilla’s incessant grief since Charles went missing, and the drama that soon followed. He turned out to be her only aid to hastily prepare for her final voyage and escorted her to the docks, and provide the words of encouragement and wisdom she so needed.

Priscilla expressed her eternal gratitude to Ferdie’s kindness. She left with him a holographic will she wrote in case the worst was to come of her. It was not so much for her belongings or her Uncle Charles’s home - but so that all her writings and the decades of work her Uncle had spent would never be lost.

Priscilla hopefully looked toward the morning light, leaving home in search of the next ship to hitchhike to another continent.

~*~

[The Terror AU Specific: ]

After many failed attempts to board ships departing for the Americas, Priscilla meets a certain Sir John Franklin. Royal British Navy Officer, and renowned explorer. She learned they were departing on an uncharted Arctic exploration. Far more north and cold for her preference or expectation, but these ships were outfitted with the latest of inventions and commanded by the Royal Navy’s veteran explorers. Most importantly, it would take her as far away from England as possible.

Away from the scandal, away from Philbert. She seized the opportunity with whatever risks it held and decided to sort out the details along the way.

Priscilla requested permission to board - expressing both her exploration experience and her immense desire to volunteer her service as part of such a ground-breaking discovery. And in an almost too good to be true sort of way, Sir John was amenable and she was assigned to the HMS Terror - set to depart within the hour.

Without delay, Priscilla visited a nearby store and sold her jeweled earrings in exchange for more appropriate heavy winter apparel. She then mailed a brief letter to her home in London with the name of the ship she was boarding and added in the postscript if her Uncle Charles did somehow miraculously return in her absence, to give him her love.

Amidst such high stakes and gambling chance of survival, freedom - was now hers. Even if it was transient. She couldn’t dwell too long on the hourglass counting down to her dread of losing everything she’d worked so hard to continue her Uncle’s legacy the moment she has to become Mrs. Winston. But there was no time for that now. Adventure was on the horizon. Accepting her fate, she turned her back to the world and boarded the HMS Terror.

#v: sail on #the terror rp #the terror au #yaayy the updated version!

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