Where did my life go? [Cliff]

[ursula.courtney.kingsley]

Ursula was in her office. Normally she split her day between office-work and taking a gentle walk outside. On this day though she was switching through pens because they were all being dried of ink. New staff rosters and room changes had to be confirmed, not to mention she had grounds regulation to check through. Even though she'd personally interviewed the new groundskeeper for his job, she'd had little contact with him since then. Perhaps it was time to have a chat. After all, she'd written an estimated dozen versions of the grounds regulation sheets and none of them seemed good enough. Perhaps that was her perfectionist nature shining through. The only consolation was that she would be retiring to her room soon and she wouldn't have to think about all that stress until the following day. No wonder she had no time for relationships, she had an important job and she valued it highly. She put 100% into it and that just didn't leave time for any sort of life.

Ursula hadn't even had time to replace her owl yet. Her old one had unfortunately died of old age and she had yet to find time to go buy another. Ursula's office window was wide open, she liked the brisk wind. Her entire body jumped though when a newcomer owl shot through the window and dropped a letter in the middle of the floor of her office. Ursula only frowned for a split second. She had been matched with her husband so she knew exactly what anonymous letters in pink envelopes meant. Holding her breath, she came out from behind her desk. Her husband had only been dead three years, she wasn't sure she was ready for a match. Of course she was reasonably optimistic, or more so than most when they received their letters. That was only because her last match she had been happily married to. It had worked out for the best.

She towered over the letter, inspecting it to see if it really was that letter. Once she felt certain that it was cupid's infamous letter, Ursula decided not to spiritualize it. She grabbed it from the floor and ripped it open. She snorted a little at the line 'your destiny and your fate will be waiting for you'. She had thought her destiny and fate laid set with her last match. If Cupid knew so much about destiny, she wondered how he didn't see her husband's death. The thought was like chains squeezing at her heart. She would need to stop thinking about things like that, it did her no good. She crumpled up the manufactured pink envelope and threw it in the trashcan, leaving only the letter in her hands. Her face dropped like liquid as she saw the name. Cliff Jacobs. The groundskeeper? What on earth could she have in common with him?

Rolling her eyes, she knew this meant she'd need to retire to her quarters and find a dress. No more work for today - and she was genuinely disappointed about that! She packed up all her papers and folders and made her way back to her room. She really had no expectations of going into Cupid's Party. It was complicated and there were many things to consider. Maybe they could come to an arrangement where they weren't going to frustrate cupid by seeking others but didn't necessarily have to see each other. It wasn't her fault she was too busy for a relationship. They could hold the title of dating without actual.. dates. Then again, that plan would only work if he was as goal-oriented and ambitious as she was. She couldn't see the groundskeeper having a pile of paperwork.

Sighing, Ursula pulled out a short pink dress. She hated being too formal unless it was a ball or a dance. This dress was perfectly adequate for meeting one person. She didn't have much to choose from in jewelry since she tended to go for the natural look and her job didn't make a huge group of friends of whom she could request to borrow. The formation of make-up was also non-existent aside from a slight slash of mascara. After ten minutes of preparation, she made her way to room 198. She slowly opened the door to peek inside but there was no need to, her match hadn't shown up yet. She stepped inside and did the only thing she could do now, wait.

[cliff.raedon.jacobs]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 440px; height: 600px; background-image: url(http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/1471/q1qwgjw3ev.jpg); -moz-border-radius: 250px; border-radius:100px 100px 100px 100px; border: 3px solid #ffffff;] LISTEN CLOSE... so cliff had been expecting it. all of his buddies had been slowly matched through the years, some even while they had been students at hogwarts, until he was the last one of his group of pals who remained single all this time. his luck had to run out eventually, especially since he was nearing thirty years old, and he'd never met a guy matched past that age. he hadn't deluded himself with the thought that maybe, just maybe, cupid had forgotten about him. cupid never forgot, and as fond as cliff was of his muggle roots, he didn't feel too keen on falling for a muggle and having to explain the whole 'magic' thing to them. not that he agreed with the match system- er... well, okay, he wasn't sure what he believed in. he didn't think that you could know who was right for each other if you weren't one of the two people involved, but cupid was some sort of god, wasn't he? maybe he knew things that cliff himself couldn't comprehend... in which case it made the groundskeeper rather uneasy, thinking that someone might know what went on in his mind. anyways, just because he'd realized that he didn't have much freedom left didn't mean that he was happy, or quickly accepting, when a snowy owl flew through the air and found him on the fringes of the forbidden forest to drop the pink envelope in his grasp. cliff had groaned at the tacky coloring which only seemed to add insult to injury, and stuck the parchment in his jacket pocket as he trudged through the snow back to the gameskeeper's cabin. he wasn't about to open the damn letter in the freezing cold now, was he? he might have slammed the door on entry to his little cabin... or it might have been the wind. cliff was too distracted to really notice, and frankly didn't care. no one was around to hear him if the loud noise was a result of his frustrations. he tossed his heavy jacket on a chair, pausing before crossing over to it and pulling out the now crumpled cold envelope. the fire crackling in the corner was calling his name, tempting him to just casually toss the parchment into the flames, but that might not please cupid too much... with a sigh the twenty-eight year old man ripped open the envelope and pulled the parchment out, hesitating for a moment before unfolding it and scanning his eyes over the message within. dear cliff, the time has come for you to meet your match. your destiny and your fate will be waiting for you in room 198. your match is ursuala kingsley;3000 -Cupid p.s.- don't forget to bring your date a flower and dress up. he had to read the name two more times before it sunk in. he was rather positive that a mistake had been made... of all the people he might have expected to be paired with, ursula was on the last of his list. why? ...well, he couldn't really name it. perhaps because she was his boss? well, not really... she was just the deputy headmistress, but she still had so much power, it was just... weird to think that someone thought she should be his wife. it was like trying to envision himself with a student. he just... couldn't see it happen. still, he couldn't doubt the 'all-wise' words of cupid or, at least, he couldn't openly dispute them. he had to be a good little boy and follow along with the god's wishes, however ludicrous they might seem to be... shortly later he was on his way to cupid's hall, the most dressed up than he could remember being in at least five years. dressiness just wasn't for him, it was part of why he liked being a groundskeeper so much. there wasn't any of the formalities a teacher experienced on an everyday basis. unfortunately today there was no way to avoid wearing the simple grey suit that he'd kept in his closet for years, just in case of 'emergencies' like this. room 198... the golden numbers on the door glared at him as cliff reached for the doorknob, hesitating once more, turned, and pushed. the door creaked slightly as it slid open, revealing the room behind and the woman waiting within. cliff swallowed, stepped inside, and let the door swing shut behind him. "miss kingsley," he nodded to his 'boss', not quite certain of what to say. there was a moment of awkward silence before he remembered what he was supposed to do. "er, i suppose these are for you," he held out the small bouquet of roses he had grabbed before heading to cupid's hall. being required to give someone something was really, really awkward. there can be only one mikey! of caution 2.0

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[ursula.courtney.kingsley]

Ursula's first impression of Cliff was one of being quite mildly impressed. Naturally she never saw the groundskeeper in a suit, it made a fitting change. It emphasized his body better as well. Well, he couldn't exactly play for Puddlemore but short of intense weight-training she couldn't see many men acquiring that much muscle. She chuckled slightly at his claim that the small bouquet of roses were a belonging of hers. "I know.. I don't see any other woman in here wearing a dress." she smiled slightly, taking the bouquet gracefully. "Thank you, it's the kindest forced gift I've ever received." she added with the same tinge of a smile. Her smiles tended to be the same. Tight-lipped and the best she could muster. She heard the click of the door magically lock behind them. So this was it, they had an hour together. The room had no windows, so even if she'd brought her Cleansweep Five she couldn't escape.

She hated that the groundskeeper - Cliff, damnit! remember the name - felt so awkward. Ursula didn't feel awkward, just worried that Cliff's life may depend on his liking her. If he 'cheated' or wanted to marry someone else, he'd be killed. So it was pressure alright. As much as it wasn't going to diffuse the situation, Ursula was a professional and they needed to talk this out. "So we both know the rules. We're not allowed to marry anyone else, death comes to those who cheat, so on and so forth." at least he didn't have to worry too much about the marriage part. Ursula had been married and hopelessly in love. She couldn't see herself loving anyone the same way again. "And I presume your sticking to that, I mean, it'd be suicide not to." she pointed out, moving backward and dropping onto the loveseat available. If she were with a man she loved, this would be a sweet little romantic room.

She placed the bouquet of roses beside the loveseat. They looked so beautiful and it was a shame that she couldn't claim them to be anything more than a charade. Looking contemplative for a long moment, Ursula couldn't say she was entirely convinced yet that Cupid had it right. This was the right guy for her?

"Do you think Cupid was right.. in putting us together?" she asked curiously. Ursula didn't know enough about him to be sure. Before she married her last match she was as skeptical as most, but it turned out so well last time and Cupid was the God of love. Two and two together said that this match was supposed to work. But would it?