weakness, obsession, the love of his life. books were her portal to different worlds from her bedroom, her portal to sanity, to a life worth living. when she finally got out, she was sure she'd be the most well-read woman in all of exandria, surely no one had a collection -- save her mamma -- as she did.
caleb quickly proved her wrong. there was no love quite like the one he had for books; and it didn't matter the type! for a picky reader like jester -- whose first questions were, in very important order: (i) is there a romance?; (ii) describe the main female character? (iii) is it funny or will it make me cry? -- the way he could pick up any book and become wholly engrossed felt more magical than any spell.
❛⠀ oh, yes!⠀ ❜ jester giggles, delighted. there are a thousand possibilities, and she was anxiously peaking ahead each time she turns the page, trying to guess which delicious path the author is going to take. what if the handsome edward is actually the reason cecilia's brother went missing??? that would be so dramatic. could cecilia still love him? jester dearly hoped so. it was war, after all! edward can't be blamed for doing his job! cecilia wouldn't hold it against him, she loved him too much.
the tiefling sighed, enamored. ❛⠀ their first kiss is so delectable. edwardclaims her. not in a gross cave-man, you are mine now and i'm keeping you locked up in my tower, sort of way, but so they'll be together forever. you see, if they kiss, they have to stay married forever, even though it is a fake marriage. isn't that just insane? one kiss, and boom, bound for life!⠀ ❜
it would make things much simpler to understand. love outside her romance books was so complicated. eyes are harder to read, mouths don't smirk nearly enough. how is she even supposed to know what anything means? not would know, she was very knowledgeable about this kind of thing.
❛⠀ and, and, and! it is her first kiss, caleb! and he doesn't doesn't know that, obviously, 'cause he thinks they're married, duh, so, of course in his head, they've kissed and done everything under the sun. he thinks his wife is the prettiest girl in the world, so he knows they'd have done everything. everything. but he is so not ready for the reality of kissing her. oh, what does he think? it is so sweet, let me check, real quick, and oh yes! you don't even need to ask, caleb! i love sharing my books with you, ⠀ ❜ she says, leafing through the pages, searching for the passage. ❛⠀ she tasted the promise of redemption. ⠀❜ lilac eyes return to caleb's, twinkling. ❛⠀ isn't that just beautiful? a life-changing kiss. ⠀ ❜