AU: A Ghost at Most

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Living within a religious family was never particularly easy. Every step was accounted for before a child had a chance to choose it for themselves - and if they did regardless, there was a price to pay. A loss of the foundation that built them; that provided  and still provided for them. Penelope Blaise could easily say she didn't believe in god; she just couldn't say it aloud.

And whose name we pray, and beg forgiveness of our sins. Amen.

It started with an announcement over dinner. A contest in which her parents had entered - a trip to America. Vermont; something that hardly interested Penelope other than the knowledge that it'd be a chance to live outside her parent's binding hold and the bible they forced into her hands. A chance to maybe be able to breathe.

Of course she was interested, and of course there was a catch. A round trip for one; airfare and accommodation included. One seat on an airplane, for one of their two children. As much as they wished to send both girls, they couldn't afford it; a trip across the Atlantic was by no means inexpensive. Lips pressed together firmly as the information was passed on. Her parents hadn't made a decision yet, and dark eyes glanced across the table to her sister. All it took was a glance, and she already knew this wasn't about to be easy.

She finished dinner quietly, helping with dishes and the like. Nobody brought up the trip again, at least not until Penelope was sitting on her bed, a book in hand and she caught the sight of Karalie passing in the hallway. "Karalie." She offered, voice quiet enough not to ring through the halls, but surely enough to catch her sister's attention.

[Karalie Heise]

America. Vermont.  A place she might only dream of visiting in her lifetime.  Naturally it wasn't her top choice in destinations, but it was something and she needed it.  It was an adventure!  It was a step away from her loving, but somewhat overbearing parents, and she only had a 50% chance of having.  Ideally she would have liked to go with Penelope.  How simple a decision it would have been had they won two tickets, but it wasn't meant to be.  One look into her sisters dark brown eyes, much the same as her own, and she knew Penelope wanted it as much as she did.  They could bicker about it all they wanted but that would only serve to upset their parents and the last thing she wanted was to lose the opportunity all together.  Quiet, rational, calculating.. Penelope sat across from her probably thinking about all the ways she could convince Karalie to be the one to go.

A plan.  She needed a plan to get what she wanted.  She didn't want to fight dirty with her sister, but she was beginning to think there was no other way.  She needed to branch out and see the world, she needed to know what else was out there.  Penelope was way more likely to to travel once school was done, so this was her only chance.  It was no secret Karalie looked forward to settling down.  She enjoyed the idea of being tied down to a man and children, but Penelope.. she loved her sister even if she chose the path of sin.  She'd always love her, and pray for her salvation, to see past temptation and wickedness and explore a life of virtue as she was intended to do.  Karalie had long since stopped preaching to Penelope, weary of the battles, but it didn't mean she agreed with her.  When it came to their parents morals, she was on board.  The church had done a fine job with only one of the Blaise children.

After cleaning up from supper Karalie excused herself to her bedroom using the excuse of homework.  Of course that wasn't what she did, but her parents bought it which was all that mattered.  She called Thomas instead, talking softly so as not to cause attention though her door was closed.  He wanted her to come out tonight, but escaping on a school night was no easy task, especially with a boy when you were a girl that wasn't allowed to date.  Still, she was pretty sure she might be able to get away for a bit once her parents went to bed..  When her conversation was over she moved from her room to got get herself a cookie when she heard her name.

The trip was the first thing that entered her mind, and she didn't have a proper game plan in place.  She paused, stepping back an inch to look at her sister there on her bed, book in hand.  The last thing she wanted to do was battle but only one of them could go and this wouldn't be an easy decision.

"Yes?" She asked, her words coated with sugar as though she didn't already know what her sister wanted.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Penelope was, if anything, a planner. Every move she made was carefully executed with the utmost precision. A mechanical mind controlled her practically robotic movements. She closed the book as her sister came to a stop, putting it aside as she swung her feet over to the edge of the bed. Back straight, eyes forward to the sister who stood in her doorframe. Despite the sweetness in Karalie's tone, Penelope refused to believe it was genuine after the news.

She was close with the other - close enough to know when to be wary.

"Come in, please." She requested, lifting a hand from her bedding and bending her fingers to wave the other in. "I want to talk to you."

Of course she wanted to talk. They both knew she did. They both knew about what, but that hardly stopped the process of starting it.

[Karalie Heise]

She watched the way her sister shifted on the bed, closing her book and setting it aside.  She was ready to do this, ready to have this conversation.  Karalie, though she wanted to be, wasn't.  Sometimes she did her best thinking on the fly, and perhaps tonight would be one of those occasions.

Karalie could put up a fight, but chose not to.  Instead she moved into her sisters room, slipping the door shut behind her.  If things got heated, as she expected they might, she didn't need to tip off their parents.  No need bringing negative attention to such a gift.

"What do you want to talk about?" She asked curiously as she slipped next to Penelope on the bed, laying down instead of sitting as her sister was doing.  She folded her arms behind her head and turned it so she could look at the girl, her legs dangling off the edge.  She was feigning innocence and ignorance, but Penelope would know she was neither.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Judging from the way Karalie chose to close the door behind her, it seemed clear that they were on the same page. At least, they both were aware of where the conversation was headed. She wished there wouldn't be an argument, but it seemed inevitable.

Still, her sister was determined to put up some sort of innocent act, one that Penelope refused to fall for as she felt the weight of her bed shift from an added person laying down on it. Keeping her back straight, she brought her hands together with a sigh. She was hardly about to go about playing along with an act, although directness was never a forte for any of the Blaise family.

"What would you like?" Penelope asked quietly, looking forward across her room to the white wall on the opposite side. "There must be something you want."

[Karalie Heise]

The question threw her off, not expecting it.  What did her sister mean, what would she like? There were plenty of things she would like, the trip to the states for instance, but the follow up question was what tipped her off.  What did she want in exchange for letting Penelope go while she stayed home.

"There is." She toyed with the hem of her shirt, looping it absentmindedly around her fingers while her stomach peeked through. There was something she wanted, but she had a feeling it wasn't what Penny wanted to hear.  "I want to go."  Her head turned to watch her sisters face, her long brown hair framing her head in a wavy mess on the bed.

"I need to go." She insisted more stubbornly, turning to look at the ceiling while her brows furrowed gently.  Penny would have her chances later on, there was no doubt about that.  They were both smart girls, but anyone could see that Penny was more likely to go places.  She had a determination that Karalie lacked, though both were equally bullheaded. If she wanted to go she would find away, Karalie was almost certain of it.  This might be her only chance.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

It wasn't until Karalie answered did Penelope turn to look at her, eyebrows raised. She was sure there wasn't a miscommunication between them; it was quite evident what she was trying to get at. There was something Karalie wanted, and it struck Penelope as curious. She was confident they could work out a solution then.

Except her sister wanted to go.

Tension rose through her jaw as it tightened, eyes rolling at the latter statement. "You don't need to go." She argued flatly. The same could be said for herself. It wasn't a life or death situation for either of them, even if it felt like it might have been. "Is there anything else you might want?" She asked carefully, trying to ease the irritation out of her tone.

Her hands tightened together, fingers interlaced as she looked forward again. Bribing was hardly a clean way to play, but if they were both able to get something they wanted out of this, it'd certainly end on better terms.

[Karalie Heise]

Her sister's eye roll only made her jaw set.  She felt her eyes narrow in return; did she have to be so silently condescending?  "Neither do you." She pointed out.  Penelope never claimed she needed to go, but she didn't have to.  Karalie could tell she felt entitled to the trip, offering to give Karalie whatever she wanted, within reason no doubt, so she would back off and allow her this opportunity she so clearly deserved more.

"No." She said flatly, turning her head up towards the ceiling again.  Her ceiling was so bare.  Everything about her room was so boring, so Penny. "Was this your best plan?" She asked, turning to look at her sister once more, sitting up on her elbows and frowning at her gently.  "Call me in and just try to bribe the trip out of me?" She asked accusingly.  She didn't want to fight, but she could feel the pressure of the argument bubbling below the surface.  Penny certainly knew how to make things difficult.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Not even two minutes into the conversation, there was already clear cut tension between herself and her sister. With her back straightened, Penelope closed her eyes on a heavy exhale. With her hands in her lap, she squeezed them together as tightly. Although not her best plan, it at least was a plan, something Penelope felt confident Karalie didn't have at all. Turning again, she looked at her sister with evident frustration burning in her eyes.

"There's nothing wrong with trying to make us both happy on some level." She called out flatly. Labeling her tactic as bribery was a low blow, even if it was honest on some level. If anything, she was trying to be considerate for her sister - looking out for her in the scheme of things.

"I don't want to fight over this." She admitted, although it seemed inevitable in the end, especially with her short temper. "I'd like to deal with this like adults, if you can manage that."

[Karalie Heise]

If that were the case, she wondered what would make Penny happy.  What could her sister possibly want that she could offer in exchange for this opportunity? Chores for a year? She could do that, though her sister would likely never agree to that.  With as prim and proper as she was, she couldn't allow someone else washing and folding her knickers.  

"Nor do I." she agreed before she felt her body tense.  If she could manage that. Her eyes narrowed; Penny certainly had a way with words.

"Sounds to me as though you're insinuating I'm normally incapable of resolving things like an adult."  She didn't want to fight, but sometimes it was difficult not to when dealing with the righteous Penelope.  She was sitting up, fingers combing through her long, dark waves.  This wasn't going to end well, she already knew it.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

As Karalie sat up, Penelope looked to her sister with raised eyebrows. No doubt the conversation was taking a hostile turn, and it seemed as if little were to going to bring it back to a more civil level. Even so, Penelope kept her expression calm, emotion refusing to filter through it as she watched her sister carefully.

"That is exactly what I am implying." She pointed out dryly, as if Karalie really needed an insult written out in layman's terms for her to understand. Although her sister wasn't an idiot, Penelope couldn't help but to wonder on occasion. Of course, the uptight Brit did believe that everyone was an idiot. Family or not.

She continued to speak before giving her sister a chance to defend herself. "You have-" A brief pause, as Penelope considered how delicately to word herself, "- a way of handling certain situations. I wouldn't particularly call it mature."

[Karalie Heise]

Anger bubbled up inside of her, red and hot, searing her from the inside out.  Penny could be such a royal, pompous, know-it-all, grade A bitch and it took everything in her to refrain from letting that know.  Well, if her sister was going to insist that Karalie was incapable of handling this like an adult, who was she to try and sway the girl otherwise? She wanted Kara to fight dirty? So be it.

"Well, insulting me and my methods of 'handling a situation' is certainly more mature than anything I've come up with, but if this is how you want things to play out, then fine.  Don't think you'll win, though."  

Her lips pressed tightly as she stood up, eyes narrowing slightly to her sister as she pushed her fists to her hips.  "What do you say we go tell mum and dad about that girl you fancy." She threatened, her voice not nearly as soft as it should be when approaching such a delicate topic, especially in this household.  "Don't think they'd let their sinner daughter go to the states now, do you?" The threat was real, but she didn't care.  She was ready to fight fire with fire; Penelope already assumed she would.  Who was she to make always-right-Penny wrong?

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

With the sudden shift of weight from the bed, Penelope's eyes widened briefly as her sister suddenly stood. Her expression was quick to falter back to a stone as she looked up, however. Lips parted as she was about to point out that she was being plenty mature; pointing out facts did no harm in the grand scheme of things. She was being honest, and wasn't that the apparent best policy?

Yet her mouth clamped shut, lips pressing together into a thin, hardened line as her expression broke for a second time. Eyes widened, eyebrows shooting up with the clear unexpected move her sister threatened upon her. She wouldn't dare - would she? The breath Penelope had taken was caught in her chest, ready to burst her lungs at any given notice.

Were her parents to find out, there would be a lot more to worry about than a trip to the Vermont. It immediately put Penelope on the defensive as she slowly stood up, palms pressing to her skirt as she eased out the invisible wrinkles she was sure existed. "Only if you'd wish to also explain Thomas." She pointed out sharply. "I'm sure they'd love to hear the details of that relationship."

[Karalie Heise]

Karalie saw the instant change in her sister's face.  She looked surprised and she didn't pretend not to know why.  Throwing out the big guns so early would easily bring her a quick victory.  No need to squabble softly for hours when she could throw her entire hand down during the first round.

Dark eyes followed her sister as she stood, coming eye level.  It was hard not to look so smug when Penelope eyed her that way, body language speaking volumes with how taut her body was.  She was like a rubber band pulled too tight, ready to snap at a moments notice.  It would be dangerous if she did; someone could lose an eye.

The sound of her boyfriend's name wiped the threatening smirk clear off her face, paling it in the process.  She needed to think quickly.  "They'd be far more accepting of an innocent relationship with him than they would of you sinning, and you know it." They certainly didn't need to know she herself had committed sins far greater than her sister, but there was no way Penny could prove it. She was also pretty sure her parents wouldn't allow her to go if they found out she was in a relationship at all and keeping it secret.  Maybe she could tell mum and dad about Tom.. she would then have to bring him home.  Ugh, she couldn't do that, they'd lose it!

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

It was a harsh defense mechanism, but evidently one that was needed. Despite the way Karalie's expression changed, Penelope kept her own stiff form as she folded her arms over her chest. Not having planned to literally threaten her sister, Penelope had to start thinking quickly. It became so much more than the desire to leave the country, even if her sexuality was a reason within itself to leave.

Having her parents find out, and then - most likely - being forced from the house? It wasn't something she was about to give into, yet allowing her sister to realize it was a valuable threat to make wasn't an option either, otherwise who knew what she'd use it for next.

So she stood tall, lips pressed so tightly together that they ached. It wasn't until Karalie tried to defend herself did she even move. An eyebrow quirked upward. "Innocent?" She questioned immediately, knowing well the answer behind it. "Of course it is. You're simply sneaking out in the evenings to play cards with him, I suppose?"