Carastariel Poses for Fun

A dialogue between Carastariel, a highly successful elven architect and former fashion model who lives in the human world, and Rhawones, the Princess of the Forest Realm, that occurred during Rhawones’s visit to New York City (described below this previous render). They are mostly speaking in English. Although she would never admit it, Carastariel prefers English to her native tongue after living in New York for so long. Rhawones can also speak English fluently, and doesn’t mind the practice.

I also recently posted a journal with 10 facts about Carastariel.

“Sooo . . . when do I get to meet your fun-loving twin, Cara?”

Carastariel looked exasperated. “What are you talking about, Rho? You know I don’t have—”

“The one who posed for this!”

Rhawones pulled a glossy photo out from behind her back. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary portrait of Carastariel in a business suit, sitting in an office chair. But on second glance, it was anything but ordinary: she wasn’t wearing anything under her blazer, and her skirt was impossibly short, showing the tops of her stockings.

“Where did—Rhawones, have you been going through my stuff?!”

Rhawones looked indignant. “Of course not! It was lying right here on the table!”

Carastariel folded her arms and raised one eyebrow. “Just lying there. On the table.”

“Yes, on the table!” Rhawones looked to the side. “In a folder. Inside an envelope. At the bottom of a box of envelopes. Underneath a pile of books. But, yes, it was on the table!” She looked Cara right in the eyes and gave her a sly smile. “So if you didn’t want anyone to see it, you really should have hidden it better. Hey, you’re the one who went into the office for half a day and left me here by myself. What did you expect would happen?”

Carastariel sighed. “The sad part is that I really do blame myself, because I should have known better.”

Rhawones continued. “Anyway, this is the Carastariel I wanted to get to know while I was here: the bold, young, rebellious woman who took the human world by storm and didn’t care what a bunch of ancient fossils from the Forest think it means to be a ‘proper elf.’ Not the hyper-sensitive nanny who has done nothing but scold me since I arrived!” She thrust her finger at the photo. “I mean, this Carastariel looks cool! And sexy!”

“Well, does that really surprise you, Rho? I was a model, after all. I’m comfortable with my body and I’m certainly not ashamed of it. Back then, I was even willing to pose for photographs that explored the artistry of the female form, if I was working with a photographer I trusted and respected. You only think I’m a prude in comparison to—um . . . other . . .”

Rhawones rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Cara, how many times do i have to tell you to speak freely with me! You were going to say in comparison to me. Which, honestly, is fair. Look, I know I’ve been—how do humans put it?—‘pushing your buttons’ since I got here. But that’s only because it was obvious you had prejudged me, based on nothing but some rumors you’ve heard about things that happened long before you were even born. I’ve always admired you for your accomplishments, Cara, but you’ve been avoiding me your whole life, even when you had business with my mother at court. So I’ve been trying to make you even more uncomfortable than I usually would. Which was immature, I know. But unlike some of the other stories you’ve heard, the rumors about my supposed immaturity are”—Rhawones paused to laugh—“very much true. So, for my part, I’m sorry.”

Carastariel nodded her head. “You’re right, I haven’t been fair to you. Although, if we’re speaking freely, I will say that you have been a handful as a guest. But, still, I shouldn’t have been so uptight, I’m not usually like that. I know how harmful rumors can be, so I should have been more open to getting to know the real you. So, I’m sorry, too. Maybe we should wipe the slate clean, and start over? There are still a few days left in your visit, at least.”

“Yes, I’d like that. And I will accept your apology, but only if you do one small thing for me to make amends: tell me who took this photo! Was it your boyfriend?”

So much for not pushing my buttons anymore, Carastariel thought. “I told you, Rho, I don’t have a boyfriend! It was a photographer I enjoyed working with when I was still in the industry.”

“Okay, but this doesn’t look like an old human photo, Cara. I used to follow your modeling career pretty closely, and I think they were still using film even when you retired.” Rhawones framed her face with her outstretched hands. “And if there’s one human technology a pretty princess like me is familiar with, it’s cameras! This looks like a digital photo, so I think it must have been taken recently, right?”

Carastariel sighed. “Okay, fine. It was about ten years ago. Gérard, my photographer friend, called and said he was going to be visiting New York. For . . . the last time.” She swallowed. “He asked if I’d be willing to model for him while he was here, just for fun.”

“Oh? And how much ‘fun’ did you two have? Did this turn into one of those ‘explorations of the female form,’ too?”

“Rhawones! Are you really not getting this?!” Carastariel closed her eyes for a moment to calm herself. “Sorry, I sometimes forget how hard it is to grasp the passage of time on human scales when you live in the Forest. I retired from modeling fifty years ago, Rho, so even though Gérard and I had lunch together whenever I was in Paris or he was in New York, we hadn’t worked together professionally for forty years when he took that photo. He was over seventy by then, and he was dying from a terminal disease. He passed on less than a year later.”

“Oh, Cara, I . . . I’m sorry. I guess I never really thought about how hard it must be for you to have human friends. They die so young.” Rhawones put her hand on Carastariel’s shoulder. “It’s not like we can’t experience loss in the Forest, but I—no, I’m not going to make this about me. I’m just really sorry you’ve lost so many friends here.”

“Thank you. It’s something I’ve come to accept, but it’s not easy. But Rho, you lost your father, I can’t imagine how painful that must have been.” Carastariel put her hand on top of Rhawones’s and squeezed it.

“Well, I’ve always felt his absence, believe me. But I was so young when he died that I have no memories of him. Which definitely hurts, but in a different way. I miss my sister, too, and she died before I was even born. But I feel like I know her, considering how much my mother talks about her.”

The women remained silent for a few more minutes, before Rhawones suddenly looked curious. “Cara . . . I have to ask. When you were talking about the ‘artistry of the female form’ and all that, did you really mean that you’ve posed without—”

Carastariel rolled her eyes. “Not that it’s any of your business, but yes. Tastefully.”

Rhawones pulled out her phone and started typing something.

“They’re not on the Internet, Rho!” Carastariel closed her eyes and whispered, “Thankfully.”

“Oh I know, I’ve already searched. I once bet your mother that you’ve never posed nude. She wasn’t sure but thought it was actually possible. But now it sounds like I definitely lost, so I’m just letting her know.”

“You what?! Don’t you dare—give me that phone, Rhawones!”

Daz Studio -> Iray -> Photoshop

As always, criticism and comments are always welcome, and greatly appreciated!