the lust of the mind

It was, perhaps, the first real smile he’s seen so far. The bright light it gave filled him with warmth that could last centuries, if he let it. He has to remind himself that, even if she was happy now, she may not always be. There would be days where she might be so far gone that he may not even be able to reach her or days where she wouldn’t want to see him from being too overwhelmed. But this was enough, this was perfect.

The feelings within her became so overwhelming to the point that her smile suddenly grew into an involuntary, soft chuckle. She ducked her head down, suddenly a bit embarrassed she had let that out. She needed more control over her feelings, especially when it came to powerful atmospheres such as the one she was in now. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me,” she murmured, her mouth pressing into a tight line.

“I do hope so as well. This is horror.” She sighed. “That I have heard. It is really that bad, is it not?”

“Indeed,” she replied. “It is best to take care when roaming in the streets. The tension is even worse outside than in here.” Evelyn frowned. Due to the chaos outside, Shakespeare had cancelled most of the practices and shows. She didn’t know when they would resume, if they would at all, but she hoped everything would be fixed soon. 

“So very unfortunate, indeed.” Miranda replied, nodding along. It was easier to simply nod along. Arching her eyebrow, she looked at the girl. “He does, from what I’ve gathered, but alas, I have only seen him and talked to him once.” Quirking her head, she smiled. “Pardon my manners, I have completely forgot we haven’t been properly introduced. I am lady Jane.”

“I see.” She nodded slightly. It had been awhile since she had spoken with Arthur and perhaps he had changed in the span of those days. She hadn’t been paying much attention to the court lately. She didn’t really pay much attention at all, much to her parents’ dismay. Evelyn turned back to the woman and returned her smile with a small one. “It’s quite alright. It is a pleasure to meet you, lady Jane. I am Lady Evelyn.”

Helena’s eyes widened. She hadn’t seen Evelyn in quite some time. When she heard her voice, she opened the door further. “Evelyn? How lovely to see you! Please come in.” She said, her smile growing. Even though she still sounded more bubbly than most people, for her doing she was rather timid. “It has been such a time. Please tell me, are you well? How is your family?” She asked as she motioned to a chair for her to sit on as she moved to do the same.

Evelyn smiled small upon seeing the young woman open her door. “As you, Helena.” Of all the people in the court, she considered the lady to be a friend and, most likely, one of the only friends she had. It was hard making friends growing up in the palace. At least for her. “It has been. I am well, thank you. My family is as well. Although, with erm, what has been going on, it’s been difficult,” she replied with a sad smile. “It is mainly why I came to visit, aside from wanting to see a friend again. How are you?”

Phoebe simply nodded. She didn’t know what else to do. It was too horrible to form it into words. “What is to happen now? What is next? Will this ever end?” She inquired, but was uncertain whether she was talking to the girl now, or just talking to herself.

Evelyn looked at the young woman, frowning slightly. “I do not know. But I do hope it will be better soon.” She swallowed hard. “I am afraid things aren’t going as well outside of the castle walls.”

Miranda nodded in acknowledgement. “From what I have heard, there was a misunderstanding. Someone gave the people a free passage from the city and our king was made to believe it was traitors who plotted mutiny and revolt. Who is to blame, really? I would say it was all one big, terrible misunderstanding.” She said, not giving much thought to who was to blame. People die every day. It was terrible,even for her, but it wasn’t the worst event yet. Not after the black plague.

“Is that what happened? Well, what they are saying?” Evelyn frowned. It sounded very much like Shakespeare’s tragedies. His stories were always full of mishaps and misunderstandings and they never failed to reel people in. The only difference was that what had actually happened was reality. It wasn’t a play. There was no backstage. The people who died weren’t going to come back to life and change into a different role. That didn’t happen in real life. “That is truly unfortunate. A series of... very unfortunate events.”

Her hand held tight to his, tighter than it’s ever been, and despite the discomfort, there was delight found amidst it. She had done so willingly, and to think that it was all because of the mere sight of the ocean. He did not blame her though; no matter what Zeus said, no matter what any vain deity claimed, no god would be greater than the sea.

“The ocean...” she murmured as she looked towards the horizon. The blue expanse seemed to be stretch on forever and she wondered whether the ocean ever touched the sky - whether it ever kissed the sun every sunrise and sunset. The thought made her smile, adding onto the giddiness she was currently feeling inside. 

Phoebe was sickened by the thought, sickened that the rumors were true and that the king she trusted – the king her sister trusts more than anyone – was capable of such an act. She came to Valencia when he was already crowned, but now, now she had to wonder whether the Titans were right. “Why? Why would he do such a thing, if he granted free passage beforehand?” She just couldn’t comprehend it.

She would never understand the schematics of politics - the reasoning behind all these laws and restrictions - yet she was bound to it, being a lady of the court. Now Evelyn wished she had paid more attention to the whispers in social gatherings. Maybe then she would understand. But even if she did, Arthur’s actions were far too large and far too malicious to do so. She shook her head. “I do not know. No one knows, perhaps, except the king himself and his advisors. All I know is that he had decreed it and everyone who was on that ship...” She swallowed hard. “Everyone... perished.”

Headcanon meme~

Before she knew it, their scene had changed. Her senses shifted to adapt to the surroundings they were suddenly in. The intensity of blue from the corner of her eye caught her attention and as she turned away from him, she was met with the clearest blue she had ever seen so far in her new life. Mouth parted slightly in awe, she took a moment to take in everything before her. The smell of briny air filling her lungs was odd but refreshing in a sense that it was something new - something she had not smelled before. 

“I suppose it is.” She had a point, but a freedom that meant violating another against their wishes wasn’t truly freedom at all. It was, in a way, oppression. “But I do not want that freedom if it means taking yours, Pandora.”

Pandora nodded at his words. “Freedom is freedom only if it does not take someone else’s.” It made sense and it was something she could stand by in her new life. If Epimetheus though the action to be malicious, then it most likely was.

 slytherycoil-miranda:

Do you love me enough that I may be weak with you?

Phoebe was chopping the onions for dinner, but she couldn’t really focus on the task. Her mind was dragging her everywhere, but it was mostly spinning around the news she’s just received. The king fucked up – bad. She didn’t really feel like thinking about politics – or talking about it – but she knew this was even more grave than she’d like to think.

Without much access outside, Evelyn found herself frequently roaming indoors, especially in the halls of the palace and the Bishop estate. There were many places she hadn’t completely explored yet, only because her parents usually prevented her from doing so. With what was going on outside the castle walls, exploring the grounds should have been allowed, at least in her opinion. 

Despite her parent’s orders, she had left the castle grounds for the day. The restlessness she felt from being cooped up inside for too long was getting to her, as well as the insatiable curiosity that had yet to fail her. Naturally, one of her nurses accompanied her so it wasn’t as if she was venturing out alone. Although, the old woman did talk her ear off through the whole walk, incessantly scolding her for almost going off by herself. “Dear nurse, we’re almost home. There is nothing else to worry about,” she murmured and flashed a crooked smile, almost pleading that she would stop now.

Helena’s heart felt heavy, like someone had stabbed it. Well, he might as well have. She had loved Arthur her whole life like a brother. She loved all her cousins because they were all she had, but what he had done know. Her stomach churned. The thought alone made her feel sick. She was feeling very distraught and she didn’t want to see anyone really. Which is why she was rather surprised to hear a knock on her bedroom door. Helena had been staring outside again, like she always did. She turned around and replied. “Yes? Who is it?”

Not many things in Evelyn’s life made her as upset as she was now. She couldn’t really believe the king would decree such a thing, to send his innocent followers to death. It couldn’t have been him... Then again, she didn’t know him as well. She considered him close but not close enough. Not as close as others, that was for sure. With such a large response in the streets of Valencia, she could only imagine what the atmosphere in the castle must feel like. As she roamed the halls of the palace (knowing it wasn’t safe to venture out in the streets anymore), she thought of Lady Wymond and wondered how she was dealing with it all. Evelyn knocked on her door upon arrival, hoping to share her concerns with her.