Tsarevna to Queen

dmitry   kept   his   mouth   shut   as   his   sister   spoke.   though   dmitry   wondered   if   he   could,   truly,   call   any   of   his   siblings   well   siblings.   just   because   they   felt   more   like   strangers   than   family.   but   when   his   sister   stopped   did   dmitry   open   his   mouth.   “you   do   not   have   to   pretend,   or   put   up   a   front   with   me   valeka.”   he   had   seen   worst   in   his   life,   and   this   did   not   worry   him.

While she didn't have the closest relationship with her siblings, Valeska had always wanted to be close with them and even now, years into her life in another country, there was some part of her that wanted to think Dmitry understood and to feel close to him. tilting her head to one side, she offered him a faint smile, nose scrunching. "Do you know how many people have come to me as if this is the end of the world, and I've failed them by allowing the sky to fall?" As if they had not all gone through the plague.

Danielle Galligan photographed by Joseph Sinclair for 1883 Magazine

While Vicente found it offensive that the soldiers of the castle had somehow missed an assassin, he was equally irritated at the way so many of the visiting royals seemed to think they were at liberty to make demands of the queen, as if she was lessen than them despite being a royal twice over. “You look tired.” @grandqueens​

"I am tired. Very much so." She sighed, willing to show weakness to him if to no one else. Hands pressing flat against her stomach, Valeska tried to think of how long she would be free before someone would come searching for her, but the truth was there never seemed to be enough time lately. Still, she moved decisively towards him, arms going up to wrap around his neck as she buried her face into his chest.

“  you’re  not  as  discrete  as  you  may  think,  ”  he  announces,  voice  echoing  through  the  large  room  as  he  drops  his  pen  against  the  grain  and  leans  back  into  his  chair,  never  looking  into  their  direction.  he’d  been  attempting  to  compose  a  letter  for  what  felt  like  an  eternity  and  had  failed  miserably  every  time.  a  few  sentences  would  be  written  only  to  be  scribbled  out,  paper  wadded  and  tossed  onto  the  ground  next  to  where  he  sat.  nothing  felt  quite  right  so  maybe  no  word  was  better  than  the  wrong  ones. “  curious,  are  you?  ”

"This is my home, I don't have to be discreet. But if I was, it would be a courtesy because it's polite not to interrupt." Although he wasn't looking at her, Valeska found herself crossing her arms, just waiting to see if he was going to try to chastise her in her own castle. "Yes, I was curious. Considering the recent ill luck with the Queen of the Netherlands, I found myself quite curious who was holed up in her by themselves and wanted to investigate."

"Well spoken." While Dante hadn't exactly known just what he would find Valeska doing considering their duties as hosts were never ending, he was pleased to find that she was doing something good for the reputation of the country and not sitting around singing back at birds of anything like that. Defending their choices following the attack on the Netherlands Queen was good, and Dante nodded at their guest as he came up beside Valeska, offering her his arm. "If I may borrow my wife for a moment."

Tension went up her spine at the way her husband had managed to come up behind her in her distraction, but beyond her eyes widening for a moment, a twitch that he couldn't see, Valeska's expression went unchanged. "Of course." The lord before her bowed quickly, not daring to contradict the wishes of the king as Valeska turned to him with a smile and took his arm. "Excuse us," Valeska told the lord as she turned, ready to be whisked away. It was only once she felt confident that she wouldn't be overheard that she muttered, "Thank you for the rescue."