Chapter 1 - In the Beginning
Mar. 5th, 2021 10:22![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
braxenNote: Because of the pictures, this story should be read on a computer.
This story begins a long time ago in a little town called Cladbridge-on-Stowe. It called itself town, but it was more of a big village really.
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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Warnings for this story: adult language, adult themes, nudity, sexual situations, slash, violence, torture (implied), rape (implied), character death
For more information on the background of this story, read Foreword
Links to all chapters and a short introduction can be found in Introduction - Chapter Index
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In this town lived a young man called William. William Pratt was his full name, son of Anne and Robert Pratt, younger brother of James. William was kind and friendly - and maybe just a bit shy.
He had finished his education and graduated just two years ago and now worked as a teacher at the village school. William loved his work and was one of the most popular teachers, probably because the children felt that he took them seriously and really was interested in their thoughts. He also encouraged them to be curious and use their imagination, since that was his own approach to knowledge. William still looked upon the world with wonder and didn't wanted that feeling to change. He longed for... more. He didn't really know what it was that he was longing for - but he wanted life to feel like an adventure. Cladbridge-on-Stowe didn't offer much in the lines of adventure, and perhaps he shouldn't have come back after he had graduated, but sought employment in a bigger town instead. But William loved his family and wanted to be close to them.
He also was rather sensitive, a dreamer really, and because of that, life at university hadn't always been that easy for him. William had his head in the clouds and his nose in a book most of the time, even when he wasn't studying. Worst of all, he felt the need to express all the beauty he saw in the world and tried to give word to his feelings by writing (not very good) poetry. "William the bloody awful poet", that was what the bullies used to call him.
The fact that he lived across the street from the village cinema had always been convenient for William, who needed food for his imagination almost as much as he needed air.
Already the posters in the foyer made him feel like he had left his every-day life behind and had entered a whole other and fantastic world.
In this world, spectacular things could happen and the wonders spilled over into his subconscious and made him dream the most incredible dreams. One night he dreamt that an alien spaceship landed in the street before their house. Sadly enough, he woke up before he actually got to meet an alien, but just the idea that something like that could happen, made him feel excited and he even thought about trying to write such a story.
William was just the kind of person that attracts bullies the most, and even if he tried to tell himself that he needn't let brutish behaviour and narrow minds make him feel bad about himself, the fact that people laughed at him behind his back, still hurt and made him feel insecure and vulnerable. He hadn't had much experience with bullies before he left home to study. At home, in Cladbridge-on-Stowe, his older brother James had always been looking out for him. No one dared to make fun of William as long as James was around, because he was very protective of his little brother. But as James was three years older than William, he of course went to university a couple of years before William. When it was William's turn, James had almost finished his medical education and was about to return home to work alongside their father, who was the village doctor. Far away from his family, William had to manage without James' protection for the first time in his life.
William and James were rather equal in appearance, but James had straight and fair hair while William's had a honeyed, light brown colour. James looks were also often referred to as "manly" by others...
.. while William mostly was perceived as "cute".
James was three years older than William and because of that, he had always been bigger and stronger than William. Even if they were now both grown men, James was still more athletic and better at sports, something that didn't at all affect their friendship. William had always looked up to James and trusted him completely.
William was still living with his parents in the house he grew up in, but even if James was married now, he hadn't moved very far. He and his wife Lucy were living in the house next door.
Lucy was a sweet and funny girl, a former colleague of William's. He rather fancied her himself at first and was a little jealous when he introduced her to his brother and soon (along with everyone else) realized, that James and Lucy were meant to be. They got engaged within a month and married just half a year later. Not that William minded really. He liked Lucy very much, but they probably wouldn't have become more than friends even if she hadn't married his brother. She was an ideal sister in law, but not the woman of his dreams. Exactly what he meant with "the woman of his dreams", William couldn't have answered. He just knew that he wanted to meet someone who felt like a soul mate, someone he felt destined to be with. And unlike William, Lucy did not long for adventure. She was just as solid as James, grounded, content with small town life. Even if she kept on working as a teacher until she got pregnant (at this time most women quit working when they married), she now was fully prepared and happy about becoming a full-time mother and wife. She got very well along with James' mother, Anne, which was a good thing as they practically lived in the same house. She and Anne helped each other making meals for both families and had a vegetable garden that they were taking care of together, and Lucy knitted, not only baby clothes, but also vests and sweaters for James.
But Lucy and James really were passionately in love with each other, and William felt that he wanted to experience the same thing. He wanted passion! He wanted to marry for love - not just because it was convenient and safe and expected of him. He wanted to be swept away by his feelings, just like in a romantic movie. He was longing to meet someone who would prove to be the woman of his dreams.
When this story begins, it was at the end of summer and William's and James' father had just unexpectedly passed away.
Anne of course was devastated by the loss of her husband.
But William also was in deep mourning. His father's passing, more than anything that had happened in his life before, made him aware of the fact that times were changing and that he wasn't a boy anymore. James of course also felt grief over his father, but he and Lucy had each other and a child on the way, and Anne actually as able to find a lot of comfort in the prospect of becoming a grandmother. James still cared as much for William as he ever had, but his focus was on his wife now and William couldn't help wondering where he would fit in. He was starting to feel a bit lost and longed for something, or someone, to call his own.
And then he met Griselda.
The first time he set eyes on her, was at the local restaurant.
She had dark hair and bright green eyes, and William thought that her (for this time) unusually short hair, made her look just like a pixie. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen and seemed so full of life and yet so calm. He just couldn't wait for someone to introduce him, and therefore boldly, and most unlike his usual manners, introduced himself.
But the very first thing he got to know about her, was that she was married. To the local vicar nonetheless. Griselda Clement, that was her name.
He had heard, of course, that Leonard Clement recently had married someone from another town, and that his wife was much younger than him, but since they had just arrived back from their honeymoon, he hadn't had the pleasure of meeting Mrs Clement until now. William suddenly felt a strange aversion towards the vicar, whom he had always found very agreeable before. Leonard Clement was an amiable, albeit somewhat absent-minded man. He had the tendency to get lost in his own thoughts in the middle of a conversation, but was such a kind and humble person that no-one ever really was annoyed. But William was almost annoyed with Leonard now. Envious that he had met Griselda first.
But as fate would have it, he got to spend time with Griselda only a couple of days later. And fate's instrument was one of Williams young students, Nora Ferguson, the mayor's daughter. A lovely and kind girl, contrary to her older brother Adrian, who William found rather insufferable. The mayor himself, Marcus Ferguson, was a vain and pompous man, but not very clever. Everyone knew that his wife, Dorothy, was the brains behind the throne.
Anyway, this day William had went for a walk down towards the river after he had finished work. He felt he needed some time to himself before going home. He was always so sad these days, and he didn't want to add to his mother's grief. He was deep in thought when Nora caught up with him.
"Why do you look so sad, Mr Pratt?" she asked. "Do you miss your father?"
William answered that indeed, he missed his father very much. It looked like Nora wanted to ask him more questions, but at that point they were joined by Griselda, who seemed to already be acquainted with Nora.
"Mr Pratt is sad because his father has passed away!" Nora promptly told Griselda. "I think he needs someone to talk to." Sometimes Nora was almost scarily insightful and William almost suspected that she took advantage of being a child by saying things, etiquette would have prevented a grown up person from saying.
This time it had the most wondrous effect: Griselda told William that she would be more than willing to listen if he needed to talk about his father. After all, that was something her husband also would offer, and Griselda declared that she'd be happy to act as stand-in. She suggested a walk along the embankment.
Before William knew it, he was sitting on a bench down by the river and pouring out his heart to Griselda, who he discovered was incredibly easy to talk to. For the first time since his father died, William actually got the feeling that he could be happy again.
"You need to learn how to appreciate life again, and allow yourself to have fun," Griselda said. "Why don't you come with me to the summer festival tomorrow? Fun will be had, I promise."
William felt a bit awkward about going to the festival with another man's wife, but Griselda assured him that her husband wouldn't mind.
"He thinks he is too old and stuffy for me and worries that I will find life dull here. He wants me to have younger friends. As if I would ever find him dull! He is such a darling."
Then it was agreed that they would go to the summer festival together.
Like all seasonal festivals in Cladbridge-on-Stowe, the Summer Festival was held at a once private farm, that now belonged to the town. Griselda wanted to try roller-skating, although she found it hard to get her feet to go in the desired direction and had to grab William's hands to keep her balance.
Griselda had brought a picnic basket, so that they could sit down and have something to eat without having to mingle with the others visitors at the food stand. It also gave them lots of time and opportunity to talk freely without anyone else listening in, and so William found himself opening up and telling Griselda things about himself he usually didn't tell others. He even told her about his attempts at writing poetry and unlike most other people, she didn't just smile politely but seemed genuinely interested. William began thinking, that she perhaps even might be willing to listen if he'd offer to read some of his own poems out loud to her.
The more he got to know Griselda, the more he liked her. It seemed to William as if he could to talk to her about just anything and he didn't feel as shy as he usually did among young women. In her company, he felt at ease, even bold. When he playfully - and almost flirty - suggested that they should test "The love inspector" together, he was a bit afraid that Griselda would find him rude, but she just laughed and thought it as a delightful idea. They got the highest score, which amused Griselda, but William, always the romantic, saw it as a sign. He felt that Griselda was a kindred spirit, perhaps she really was his soul mate.
They had a wonderful afternoon together and when it started getting dark and it was time to go home, they both felt that they had found a new friend and were already making new plans for things they wanted to do together.
But William of course felt much more than friendship, he was beginning to fall in love with her. Griselda was such a wonderful person, so lively and still she had this soothing effect on him. She also seemed to be a truly good person, so how could he not fall in love with her? Of course, there was the problem with her already being married. He couldn't figure out how Griselda's husband would fit into the dreams he had started weaving around her, so he chose to repress all thoughts on Leonard Clement for the time being.
While summer slowly passed over into fall and the days grew darker, William and Griselda spent a lot of time together and became firm friends. Even if they never were alone with each other, but always in the company of others who could act as chaperons, William still felt that they grew closer for every passing day.
Griselda's husband joined them from time to time and never seemed to find it awkward or feel suspicious in their company. He also still didn't seem to find it strange that Griselda was best friends with a man, in fact he didn't seem to mind at all. Leonard even told William, that he was thankful that Griselda had found such a good friend in him. That actually made William feeling a bit ashamed, even though he once again quickly managed to repress all thoughts on the fact that Griselda actually already was married.
But William of course liked it much better when Leonard was not around, and he cherished those short and few precious moments when he had Griselda almost to himself. As time went by, his romantic dreams slowly took over, so that he saw a hidden meaning in everything she said and believed that she felt the same way as he did.
But even if Leonard himself didn't mind them spending so much time together, others weren't as inclined to believe that William's and Griselda's relation was completely innocent and soon it was one of the main topics for gossip in the village. People were talking - and speculating. That awful Adrian Ferguson was especially tactless and seemed to take an almost evil pleasure in letting William's mother overhear parts of such conversations. Anne never said a word about it to William, but she really didn't think it was proper behaviour for a married woman to be friends with a man, and the increasing gossip made her feel very uncomfortable.
James realised that he needed to have a talk with William.
"I know you like the girl, and believe me, I do understand that the friendship you share with her makes you happy," he said, "but try to see how others perceive it. Everyone isn't as kind as you, they want to believe the worst. You and Griselda are the talk of the town right now, and that is really painful to our mother".
But for once, William was reluctant to listen to James and really didn't want to follow his advice. He tried to assure James that people would stop talking after a while, but that just seemed make James more worried and actually put a frown between his brows.
Once again though, fate intervened and this time William didn't perceive it as a miracle, but more like a punch in the face instead.
"You are my best friend, and I want you to be the first to know - I'm going to have a baby!!" Griselda, obviously bursting with joy, told William one day. He was not at all prepared for something like this, and felt his world fall to pieces.
He managed to pull himself together enough to at least give Griselda the impression that he was paying attention when she told him about her joy over becoming a mother. But in reality, he just nodded and smiled and hardly heard a word of what she was saying. His emotions were in a turmoil and he felt utterly shocked, but slowly he started to realise that Griselda actually didn't feel at all the same way about him as he did about her. To her he was just a friend. A near and dear friend, obviously, but she was in love with her husband and harboured no such feelings for William. He had been imagining it all.
Even if no one really had known about his true feelings for Griselda, William felt that he had made a complete fool of himself. He needed time to lick his wounds and was grateful for the comfort he found in the company of his family and the friendship with his brother.
But there was no way he could avoid Griselda. During the time they had known each other, she and Lucy had also become fast friends. Now they also had that in common that they both were pregnant with their first child and therefore it was only natural for Griselda to stop by just as often as before. She treated William the same way she always had and didn't notice any difference in their relationship. William couldn't decide if he felt good or bad about seeing her all the time. On one hand it was really painful to keep seeing Griselda every other day, because most of all he wanted to forget and overcome his feelings. On the other hand, he knew he would miss her terribly if he didn't get to see her, and perhaps it actually would make it easier for him to learn to think of her as just a friend if he kept seeing her every other day.
Then one night, it was time for Lucy to give birth. James lost his usual cool and got quite flustered. He had the whole house in an uproar before he finally got Lucy into the car and drove her the short distance to the village hospital.
Once the baby was born and Lucy had been able to rest, the young family returned home and William got to meet his nephew Julian for the first time.
It was a strange but wonderful feeling to hold this new little person in his arms. William felt his world changing, just as it had when his father passed away. Once again he was reminded that he wasn't the youngest anymore, but this time it just felt good. This baby needed to be protected and cared for. Little Julian needed William to be a grown up.
And William felt himself more than ready to grow up. He was an uncle now.
The arrival of Julian made it clear to William, that he also wanted to have a family of his own someday. That he felt the urge to be, not only an uncle, but a husband and father himself, just like James. But first of all he needed to move on from Griselda and find someone else to love.
Then William ran into Cecily Underwood at a tea room in town. They were about the same age and had been in school together. After finishing school, Cecily went on to study at the university and graduated with a degree in business. She now worked as the personal assistant to the owner and managing director of a local import company. Cecily had always been a stylish girl and now when she was all grown up, she had become a very elegant young woman.
Good manners demanded that he greeted her politely and asked all the usual questions about her health and her parents and their health, but he was very surprised, to say the least, when Cecily seemed delighted to see him and prolonged the conversation, far beyond that what etiquette required of her.
Already back when they all went to school together, Cecily (who was between James and William in age) had always had an eye for James, even more so after he had graduated and started working as a doctor. Even though she always seemed to have some good looking fellow at her beck and call, she never quite gave up her attempts to gain James' attention and she had seemed very disappointed when he got engaged to Lucy.
She and William on the other hand had never gotten along very well. Even if Cecily hadn't actually bullied him (which of course would have made her fall from James' good graces), she'd never tried to hide that she found William both peculiar and boring. When they met socially, they had both always tried their best to interact as little as possible.
Cecily came from money. Her father had inherited it from his father and hadn't really ever had to work. Cecily though, was ambitious. After she had graduated, she had gotten the position as the personal assistant to the managing director of a local import company. But that was far from her final goal - she wanted to have a company of her own. Her father's money would make that possible, she just needed to build experience and a business network first.
The family Underwoods' house was the biggest house in town. Sinclair Manor, the home of the local nobility, was bigger though. In fact it was much larger - and grander. As much as Geraldine Underwood would have wanted it, alas - their family wasn't the leading one in this town.
The Sinclair family also had a whole staff of servants to manage the big house while the Underwoods just had a maid. And as it happens, Jeremy Sinclair was also Cecily's boss and the owner of the company she worked at.
Geraldine Underwood, Cecily's mother, was an acquaintance of William's mother, although Anne didn't like Geraldine much. William's mother was a warm and friendly person and she found the other woman to be both snobbish and intolerant.
Cecily's father, Malcolm Underwood, was an outdoorsy type of fellow. As he didn't need to work for a living, he spent most of his time either on the golf course, fishing or walking his dogs.
Even though Cecily wasn't at all William's favourite person, he actually did find her very attractive with her clear skin, auburn hair and big brown eyes.
After that first meeting at the tea house, he kept running into Cecily and every time she seemed so very pleased to meet him, so eager to spend time with him. It baffled William, he didn't know what to think - but it was flattering of course.
One evening they ran into each other outside the restaurant and decided to have a drink together. They had a really nice time and William couldn't help noticing the envious glances other men gave him. Cecily really was quite beautiful.
Then, just a couple of days later, William was invited to her home for drinks. This of course felt like an important step. Cecily seemed very interested in getting closer acquainted.
But he still wasn't prepared when she suddenly stepped very close to him and grabbed his hands. and his senses suddenly were flooded with impressions of her. She stood so close to him that he could feel the warmth from her body and feel her breath on his face. The perfume she wore, a spicy, yet fresh and elegant fragrance, made him feel a bit dizzy. It seemed like they were just a moment away from kissing each other and William felt his heart start beating much faster.
Before anything could happen though, they were interrupted by the clapping sound of high heels approaching from the hallway. Cecily managed to take a couple of quick steps away from William before her mother entered the room. Geraldine looked at them with obvious suspicion and disapproval, and William got the distinct feeling that Cecily's mother didn't like him very much. He suspected that he didn't meet the standards Geraldine wanted for her daughter, a school teacher probably wasn't on top of her list of desirable suitors. But desire was what William suddenly felt for Cecily. Desire to step closer to her again and inhale the sweets scents of her warm body. Desire to touch her, to put his arms around her - to kiss her and see if her lips felt as soft as they looked. Desire made him bold enough to suggest to Cecily that they'd try to catch a picture at the local cinema. Anything to get out of the house as quickly as possible, away from the prying and ever watchful eyes of Geraldine. But he was still surprised when Cecily immediately agreed.
As it happened, they didn't make it to the cinema in time, the film had already started and they found the foyer deserted. It had been the very first place William could think of, when he quickly searched his mind for someplace to take Cecily. This was after all his favourite spot in this town. Cecily didn't seem to share that feeling though. In fact, she took a look around and pursed her lips in disapprovement, an expression that didn't at all improve her beauty and actually made her face (alarmingly) similar to her mother's.
The pursed lips took on a much more seductive look though, as Cecily once again stepped close to William and this time even put her arms around him.
"I want you to kiss me now!" she said. And William willingly followed her orders, so eager, that he completely forgot to be nervous. He had kissed girls before, he had, but not for some time. And not in this way, where the kiss felt as if it just were the beginning of something even more intimate. He had never before in his life experienced this kind of sexual allure. Cecily's lips were just as soft and tasty as they looked, and when she parted them and her tongue slipped into in his mouth, William let out a soft moan, and met her tounge with his own.
Chapter notes: This happened so long ago, that people actually had plumbobs hovering above their heads... :P I am happy to announce, that the quality of the pictures will improve rapidly and that at least those annoying disturbances will disappear completely in course of the first three chapters. On the other hand, I quite often find that the thought and speech bubbles further add to the story I want to tell, so I will perhaps keep on using them, at least from time to time.
Links to all chapters: Introduction - Chapter Index:
This story begins a long time ago in a little town called Cladbridge-on-Stowe. It called itself town, but it was more of a big village really.
*************************************************************************
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Warnings for this story: adult language, adult themes, nudity, sexual situations, slash, violence, torture (implied), rape (implied), character death
For more information on the background of this story, read Foreword
Links to all chapters and a short introduction can be found in Introduction - Chapter Index
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In this town lived a young man called William. William Pratt was his full name, son of Anne and Robert Pratt, younger brother of James. William was kind and friendly - and maybe just a bit shy.
He had finished his education and graduated just two years ago and now worked as a teacher at the village school. William loved his work and was one of the most popular teachers, probably because the children felt that he took them seriously and really was interested in their thoughts. He also encouraged them to be curious and use their imagination, since that was his own approach to knowledge. William still looked upon the world with wonder and didn't wanted that feeling to change. He longed for... more. He didn't really know what it was that he was longing for - but he wanted life to feel like an adventure. Cladbridge-on-Stowe didn't offer much in the lines of adventure, and perhaps he shouldn't have come back after he had graduated, but sought employment in a bigger town instead. But William loved his family and wanted to be close to them.
He also was rather sensitive, a dreamer really, and because of that, life at university hadn't always been that easy for him. William had his head in the clouds and his nose in a book most of the time, even when he wasn't studying. Worst of all, he felt the need to express all the beauty he saw in the world and tried to give word to his feelings by writing (not very good) poetry. "William the bloody awful poet", that was what the bullies used to call him.
The fact that he lived across the street from the village cinema had always been convenient for William, who needed food for his imagination almost as much as he needed air.
Already the posters in the foyer made him feel like he had left his every-day life behind and had entered a whole other and fantastic world.
In this world, spectacular things could happen and the wonders spilled over into his subconscious and made him dream the most incredible dreams. One night he dreamt that an alien spaceship landed in the street before their house. Sadly enough, he woke up before he actually got to meet an alien, but just the idea that something like that could happen, made him feel excited and he even thought about trying to write such a story.
William was just the kind of person that attracts bullies the most, and even if he tried to tell himself that he needn't let brutish behaviour and narrow minds make him feel bad about himself, the fact that people laughed at him behind his back, still hurt and made him feel insecure and vulnerable. He hadn't had much experience with bullies before he left home to study. At home, in Cladbridge-on-Stowe, his older brother James had always been looking out for him. No one dared to make fun of William as long as James was around, because he was very protective of his little brother. But as James was three years older than William, he of course went to university a couple of years before William. When it was William's turn, James had almost finished his medical education and was about to return home to work alongside their father, who was the village doctor. Far away from his family, William had to manage without James' protection for the first time in his life.
William and James were rather equal in appearance, but James had straight and fair hair while William's had a honeyed, light brown colour. James looks were also often referred to as "manly" by others...
.. while William mostly was perceived as "cute".
James was three years older than William and because of that, he had always been bigger and stronger than William. Even if they were now both grown men, James was still more athletic and better at sports, something that didn't at all affect their friendship. William had always looked up to James and trusted him completely.
William was still living with his parents in the house he grew up in, but even if James was married now, he hadn't moved very far. He and his wife Lucy were living in the house next door.
Lucy was a sweet and funny girl, a former colleague of William's. He rather fancied her himself at first and was a little jealous when he introduced her to his brother and soon (along with everyone else) realized, that James and Lucy were meant to be. They got engaged within a month and married just half a year later. Not that William minded really. He liked Lucy very much, but they probably wouldn't have become more than friends even if she hadn't married his brother. She was an ideal sister in law, but not the woman of his dreams. Exactly what he meant with "the woman of his dreams", William couldn't have answered. He just knew that he wanted to meet someone who felt like a soul mate, someone he felt destined to be with. And unlike William, Lucy did not long for adventure. She was just as solid as James, grounded, content with small town life. Even if she kept on working as a teacher until she got pregnant (at this time most women quit working when they married), she now was fully prepared and happy about becoming a full-time mother and wife. She got very well along with James' mother, Anne, which was a good thing as they practically lived in the same house. She and Anne helped each other making meals for both families and had a vegetable garden that they were taking care of together, and Lucy knitted, not only baby clothes, but also vests and sweaters for James.
But Lucy and James really were passionately in love with each other, and William felt that he wanted to experience the same thing. He wanted passion! He wanted to marry for love - not just because it was convenient and safe and expected of him. He wanted to be swept away by his feelings, just like in a romantic movie. He was longing to meet someone who would prove to be the woman of his dreams.
When this story begins, it was at the end of summer and William's and James' father had just unexpectedly passed away.
Anne of course was devastated by the loss of her husband.
But William also was in deep mourning. His father's passing, more than anything that had happened in his life before, made him aware of the fact that times were changing and that he wasn't a boy anymore. James of course also felt grief over his father, but he and Lucy had each other and a child on the way, and Anne actually as able to find a lot of comfort in the prospect of becoming a grandmother. James still cared as much for William as he ever had, but his focus was on his wife now and William couldn't help wondering where he would fit in. He was starting to feel a bit lost and longed for something, or someone, to call his own.
And then he met Griselda.
The first time he set eyes on her, was at the local restaurant.
She had dark hair and bright green eyes, and William thought that her (for this time) unusually short hair, made her look just like a pixie. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen and seemed so full of life and yet so calm. He just couldn't wait for someone to introduce him, and therefore boldly, and most unlike his usual manners, introduced himself.
But the very first thing he got to know about her, was that she was married. To the local vicar nonetheless. Griselda Clement, that was her name.
He had heard, of course, that Leonard Clement recently had married someone from another town, and that his wife was much younger than him, but since they had just arrived back from their honeymoon, he hadn't had the pleasure of meeting Mrs Clement until now. William suddenly felt a strange aversion towards the vicar, whom he had always found very agreeable before. Leonard Clement was an amiable, albeit somewhat absent-minded man. He had the tendency to get lost in his own thoughts in the middle of a conversation, but was such a kind and humble person that no-one ever really was annoyed. But William was almost annoyed with Leonard now. Envious that he had met Griselda first.
But as fate would have it, he got to spend time with Griselda only a couple of days later. And fate's instrument was one of Williams young students, Nora Ferguson, the mayor's daughter. A lovely and kind girl, contrary to her older brother Adrian, who William found rather insufferable. The mayor himself, Marcus Ferguson, was a vain and pompous man, but not very clever. Everyone knew that his wife, Dorothy, was the brains behind the throne.
Anyway, this day William had went for a walk down towards the river after he had finished work. He felt he needed some time to himself before going home. He was always so sad these days, and he didn't want to add to his mother's grief. He was deep in thought when Nora caught up with him.
"Why do you look so sad, Mr Pratt?" she asked. "Do you miss your father?"
William answered that indeed, he missed his father very much. It looked like Nora wanted to ask him more questions, but at that point they were joined by Griselda, who seemed to already be acquainted with Nora.
"Mr Pratt is sad because his father has passed away!" Nora promptly told Griselda. "I think he needs someone to talk to." Sometimes Nora was almost scarily insightful and William almost suspected that she took advantage of being a child by saying things, etiquette would have prevented a grown up person from saying.
This time it had the most wondrous effect: Griselda told William that she would be more than willing to listen if he needed to talk about his father. After all, that was something her husband also would offer, and Griselda declared that she'd be happy to act as stand-in. She suggested a walk along the embankment.
Before William knew it, he was sitting on a bench down by the river and pouring out his heart to Griselda, who he discovered was incredibly easy to talk to. For the first time since his father died, William actually got the feeling that he could be happy again.
"You need to learn how to appreciate life again, and allow yourself to have fun," Griselda said. "Why don't you come with me to the summer festival tomorrow? Fun will be had, I promise."
William felt a bit awkward about going to the festival with another man's wife, but Griselda assured him that her husband wouldn't mind.
"He thinks he is too old and stuffy for me and worries that I will find life dull here. He wants me to have younger friends. As if I would ever find him dull! He is such a darling."
Then it was agreed that they would go to the summer festival together.
Like all seasonal festivals in Cladbridge-on-Stowe, the Summer Festival was held at a once private farm, that now belonged to the town. Griselda wanted to try roller-skating, although she found it hard to get her feet to go in the desired direction and had to grab William's hands to keep her balance.
Griselda had brought a picnic basket, so that they could sit down and have something to eat without having to mingle with the others visitors at the food stand. It also gave them lots of time and opportunity to talk freely without anyone else listening in, and so William found himself opening up and telling Griselda things about himself he usually didn't tell others. He even told her about his attempts at writing poetry and unlike most other people, she didn't just smile politely but seemed genuinely interested. William began thinking, that she perhaps even might be willing to listen if he'd offer to read some of his own poems out loud to her.
The more he got to know Griselda, the more he liked her. It seemed to William as if he could to talk to her about just anything and he didn't feel as shy as he usually did among young women. In her company, he felt at ease, even bold. When he playfully - and almost flirty - suggested that they should test "The love inspector" together, he was a bit afraid that Griselda would find him rude, but she just laughed and thought it as a delightful idea. They got the highest score, which amused Griselda, but William, always the romantic, saw it as a sign. He felt that Griselda was a kindred spirit, perhaps she really was his soul mate.
They had a wonderful afternoon together and when it started getting dark and it was time to go home, they both felt that they had found a new friend and were already making new plans for things they wanted to do together.
But William of course felt much more than friendship, he was beginning to fall in love with her. Griselda was such a wonderful person, so lively and still she had this soothing effect on him. She also seemed to be a truly good person, so how could he not fall in love with her? Of course, there was the problem with her already being married. He couldn't figure out how Griselda's husband would fit into the dreams he had started weaving around her, so he chose to repress all thoughts on Leonard Clement for the time being.
While summer slowly passed over into fall and the days grew darker, William and Griselda spent a lot of time together and became firm friends. Even if they never were alone with each other, but always in the company of others who could act as chaperons, William still felt that they grew closer for every passing day.
Griselda's husband joined them from time to time and never seemed to find it awkward or feel suspicious in their company. He also still didn't seem to find it strange that Griselda was best friends with a man, in fact he didn't seem to mind at all. Leonard even told William, that he was thankful that Griselda had found such a good friend in him. That actually made William feeling a bit ashamed, even though he once again quickly managed to repress all thoughts on the fact that Griselda actually already was married.
But William of course liked it much better when Leonard was not around, and he cherished those short and few precious moments when he had Griselda almost to himself. As time went by, his romantic dreams slowly took over, so that he saw a hidden meaning in everything she said and believed that she felt the same way as he did.
But even if Leonard himself didn't mind them spending so much time together, others weren't as inclined to believe that William's and Griselda's relation was completely innocent and soon it was one of the main topics for gossip in the village. People were talking - and speculating. That awful Adrian Ferguson was especially tactless and seemed to take an almost evil pleasure in letting William's mother overhear parts of such conversations. Anne never said a word about it to William, but she really didn't think it was proper behaviour for a married woman to be friends with a man, and the increasing gossip made her feel very uncomfortable.
James realised that he needed to have a talk with William.
"I know you like the girl, and believe me, I do understand that the friendship you share with her makes you happy," he said, "but try to see how others perceive it. Everyone isn't as kind as you, they want to believe the worst. You and Griselda are the talk of the town right now, and that is really painful to our mother".
But for once, William was reluctant to listen to James and really didn't want to follow his advice. He tried to assure James that people would stop talking after a while, but that just seemed make James more worried and actually put a frown between his brows.
Once again though, fate intervened and this time William didn't perceive it as a miracle, but more like a punch in the face instead.
"You are my best friend, and I want you to be the first to know - I'm going to have a baby!!" Griselda, obviously bursting with joy, told William one day. He was not at all prepared for something like this, and felt his world fall to pieces.
He managed to pull himself together enough to at least give Griselda the impression that he was paying attention when she told him about her joy over becoming a mother. But in reality, he just nodded and smiled and hardly heard a word of what she was saying. His emotions were in a turmoil and he felt utterly shocked, but slowly he started to realise that Griselda actually didn't feel at all the same way about him as he did about her. To her he was just a friend. A near and dear friend, obviously, but she was in love with her husband and harboured no such feelings for William. He had been imagining it all.
Even if no one really had known about his true feelings for Griselda, William felt that he had made a complete fool of himself. He needed time to lick his wounds and was grateful for the comfort he found in the company of his family and the friendship with his brother.
But there was no way he could avoid Griselda. During the time they had known each other, she and Lucy had also become fast friends. Now they also had that in common that they both were pregnant with their first child and therefore it was only natural for Griselda to stop by just as often as before. She treated William the same way she always had and didn't notice any difference in their relationship. William couldn't decide if he felt good or bad about seeing her all the time. On one hand it was really painful to keep seeing Griselda every other day, because most of all he wanted to forget and overcome his feelings. On the other hand, he knew he would miss her terribly if he didn't get to see her, and perhaps it actually would make it easier for him to learn to think of her as just a friend if he kept seeing her every other day.
Then one night, it was time for Lucy to give birth. James lost his usual cool and got quite flustered. He had the whole house in an uproar before he finally got Lucy into the car and drove her the short distance to the village hospital.
Once the baby was born and Lucy had been able to rest, the young family returned home and William got to meet his nephew Julian for the first time.
It was a strange but wonderful feeling to hold this new little person in his arms. William felt his world changing, just as it had when his father passed away. Once again he was reminded that he wasn't the youngest anymore, but this time it just felt good. This baby needed to be protected and cared for. Little Julian needed William to be a grown up.
And William felt himself more than ready to grow up. He was an uncle now.
The arrival of Julian made it clear to William, that he also wanted to have a family of his own someday. That he felt the urge to be, not only an uncle, but a husband and father himself, just like James. But first of all he needed to move on from Griselda and find someone else to love.
Then William ran into Cecily Underwood at a tea room in town. They were about the same age and had been in school together. After finishing school, Cecily went on to study at the university and graduated with a degree in business. She now worked as the personal assistant to the owner and managing director of a local import company. Cecily had always been a stylish girl and now when she was all grown up, she had become a very elegant young woman.
Good manners demanded that he greeted her politely and asked all the usual questions about her health and her parents and their health, but he was very surprised, to say the least, when Cecily seemed delighted to see him and prolonged the conversation, far beyond that what etiquette required of her.
Already back when they all went to school together, Cecily (who was between James and William in age) had always had an eye for James, even more so after he had graduated and started working as a doctor. Even though she always seemed to have some good looking fellow at her beck and call, she never quite gave up her attempts to gain James' attention and she had seemed very disappointed when he got engaged to Lucy.
She and William on the other hand had never gotten along very well. Even if Cecily hadn't actually bullied him (which of course would have made her fall from James' good graces), she'd never tried to hide that she found William both peculiar and boring. When they met socially, they had both always tried their best to interact as little as possible.
Cecily came from money. Her father had inherited it from his father and hadn't really ever had to work. Cecily though, was ambitious. After she had graduated, she had gotten the position as the personal assistant to the managing director of a local import company. But that was far from her final goal - she wanted to have a company of her own. Her father's money would make that possible, she just needed to build experience and a business network first.
The family Underwoods' house was the biggest house in town. Sinclair Manor, the home of the local nobility, was bigger though. In fact it was much larger - and grander. As much as Geraldine Underwood would have wanted it, alas - their family wasn't the leading one in this town.
The Sinclair family also had a whole staff of servants to manage the big house while the Underwoods just had a maid. And as it happens, Jeremy Sinclair was also Cecily's boss and the owner of the company she worked at.
Geraldine Underwood, Cecily's mother, was an acquaintance of William's mother, although Anne didn't like Geraldine much. William's mother was a warm and friendly person and she found the other woman to be both snobbish and intolerant.
Cecily's father, Malcolm Underwood, was an outdoorsy type of fellow. As he didn't need to work for a living, he spent most of his time either on the golf course, fishing or walking his dogs.
Even though Cecily wasn't at all William's favourite person, he actually did find her very attractive with her clear skin, auburn hair and big brown eyes.
After that first meeting at the tea house, he kept running into Cecily and every time she seemed so very pleased to meet him, so eager to spend time with him. It baffled William, he didn't know what to think - but it was flattering of course.
One evening they ran into each other outside the restaurant and decided to have a drink together. They had a really nice time and William couldn't help noticing the envious glances other men gave him. Cecily really was quite beautiful.
Then, just a couple of days later, William was invited to her home for drinks. This of course felt like an important step. Cecily seemed very interested in getting closer acquainted.
But he still wasn't prepared when she suddenly stepped very close to him and grabbed his hands. and his senses suddenly were flooded with impressions of her. She stood so close to him that he could feel the warmth from her body and feel her breath on his face. The perfume she wore, a spicy, yet fresh and elegant fragrance, made him feel a bit dizzy. It seemed like they were just a moment away from kissing each other and William felt his heart start beating much faster.
Before anything could happen though, they were interrupted by the clapping sound of high heels approaching from the hallway. Cecily managed to take a couple of quick steps away from William before her mother entered the room. Geraldine looked at them with obvious suspicion and disapproval, and William got the distinct feeling that Cecily's mother didn't like him very much. He suspected that he didn't meet the standards Geraldine wanted for her daughter, a school teacher probably wasn't on top of her list of desirable suitors. But desire was what William suddenly felt for Cecily. Desire to step closer to her again and inhale the sweets scents of her warm body. Desire to touch her, to put his arms around her - to kiss her and see if her lips felt as soft as they looked. Desire made him bold enough to suggest to Cecily that they'd try to catch a picture at the local cinema. Anything to get out of the house as quickly as possible, away from the prying and ever watchful eyes of Geraldine. But he was still surprised when Cecily immediately agreed.
As it happened, they didn't make it to the cinema in time, the film had already started and they found the foyer deserted. It had been the very first place William could think of, when he quickly searched his mind for someplace to take Cecily. This was after all his favourite spot in this town. Cecily didn't seem to share that feeling though. In fact, she took a look around and pursed her lips in disapprovement, an expression that didn't at all improve her beauty and actually made her face (alarmingly) similar to her mother's.
The pursed lips took on a much more seductive look though, as Cecily once again stepped close to William and this time even put her arms around him.
"I want you to kiss me now!" she said. And William willingly followed her orders, so eager, that he completely forgot to be nervous. He had kissed girls before, he had, but not for some time. And not in this way, where the kiss felt as if it just were the beginning of something even more intimate. He had never before in his life experienced this kind of sexual allure. Cecily's lips were just as soft and tasty as they looked, and when she parted them and her tongue slipped into in his mouth, William let out a soft moan, and met her tounge with his own.
Chapter notes: This happened so long ago, that people actually had plumbobs hovering above their heads... :P I am happy to announce, that the quality of the pictures will improve rapidly and that at least those annoying disturbances will disappear completely in course of the first three chapters. On the other hand, I quite often find that the thought and speech bubbles further add to the story I want to tell, so I will perhaps keep on using them, at least from time to time.
Links to all chapters: Introduction - Chapter Index:
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Date: 2018-05-16 15:46 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-16 16:39 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-06-07 06:39 (UTC)And I'm not the most visually oriented myself, but I thought you framed some wonderfully expressive shots, which always seemed to me harder to do in TS3 than TS2. I'm especially partial to the one where William walks in on James and Lucy kissing. He's kind of immediately endearing, which is your characterisation, of course, but I think the sensitive lad thing would've been harder to pull off with eyebrows like James's :-D Well, off to read the next one while I've got the time.
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Date: 2018-06-07 15:43 (UTC)Thank you also your compliment regarding the picture with James and Lucy kissing. I've always been a crappy photographer, so I have been wondering how on earth I would ever be able to pull off a story like this. But the urge to tell it was so strong that I found myself capable of humiliating myself, so I just started and hoped that I would improve. The first chapters are a bit awkward, but I actually think that I'm getting a hang of it now. I discovered that when I have a story to tell, I actually find the pictures (and hopefully also the words, even in English). Very few of the pictures will be staged. I find that snapping something that actually plays out in-game makes for much more flow and life in the pictures. The staged ones are the sex scenes, and there will be a lot of them in the "vampire chapters", but I still hold on to my statement that there will be a reason for everything I choose to show. No nudity for the sake of nudity, no sexcapades.
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Date: 2018-06-23 04:38 (UTC)I've noticed you've been keeping to a regular schedule of chapter posts and wondered if you have the whole fully conceived already. Enough to know how many chapters there will be, I mean. What you said about the story going in places you hadn't imagined suggests it may not be as firmly tied to a projected outline, but I still wondered.
The first chapters' pictures didn't seem awkward to me. Of course, on an aesthetic level, I'm no judge, but at a story level, the pictures seemed wonderfully evocative. I don't recall which chapter it's in, but that shot of (I think) Cecily's father (in that ensemble) with his dogs set against the countryside makes me smile just to remember because, even without words, it immediately announces his type. I am on the opposite side of the "to stage or not to stage" debate, however. I just can't help myself! In my flashback-style chapters in particular, probably every last detail in the costuming and interactive posing is as I have arranged. I'm also not above a few sexcapades for the characters so inclined :-D But I always like hearing how others approach simstorytelling; I'm sure I've said this before as well but it really is such a flexible medium for a game (well, games) with its own constraints.
Anyway...I'm slow, but I am still here, binge-reading as I get the chance.
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Date: 2018-06-23 05:30 (UTC)I had pictures for the first William chapters before I started posting, so I was able to keep that batch on a weekly schedule. Next chapter will make a jump to Buffy and Sunnydale in the future (this will be a story that operates on two time lines) and I am writing it right now. It takes longer than anticipated. The tone changes in this chapter and you know, English isn't my native language, so it's hard and slow work. When it comes to the whole story the answer is no: no, I haven't gotten it all outlined. There are events and sometimes whole episodes and an overall plotline (and the idea of an ending), but I don't know exactly what will happen, that will have to unfold in the process. I am determined though, to not let this story stray and meander but try and make it into a fluent narrative that actually is going somewhere. It is of epic proportions nonetheless and it will take some time to get to the end. Right now I have to do a lot of thinking, world building so to speak. How do the vampires work? What abilities do they have? How does Buffy recognize them? And a lot of other things - all the whys and wherefores. I have to be clear about all those things, so that I can be consistent when I move on.
I'm glad to hear your creativity is also in a flow. My energy levels are going up (shit is about to hit the fan here, so the dynamics are in full motion) and I must (finally!) check out that latest chapter before you post anything more. I'm not too good at keeping up with Tumblr though. I get why it suits the simming community, but it's too fast and fragmented for me. Your staged pictures BTW are wonderful! I am not at all opposed to staging, this in-game method just works better for me, probably because the sims do things I wouldn't have made them do, thereby adding to and changing the story. I like to be surprised. :D