m a t i l d a

caspia hid her present for matilda behind her back as she tip-toed forward. setting the gift down on a nearby table, she leaned over to cover her friend’s eyes and say, “guess who has a present for you?”

Levi was walking down the hallway when he caught the light fragrance of lavender, prompting him to start sneezing. Levi was allergic to the plant and he approached the location of the smell, spotting a girl. “Hey, do you have any-” he was cut off by a loud sneeze and he could feel his skin getting itchy. “Do you have any benadryl?”

Isadora had business over at the prep school, she was walking past the dorms when she heard a voice. Isadora walked towards the voice and smiled. “You know, lavender helps promote good sleep, you have good taste in plants.” She herself didnt particularly have issues sleeping, but lavender also prompted relaxation.

Originally posted by knowlesbitch

she could see everything happening in matilda’s face; she was telling the truth, the truth of her heart, and it was so real that it scared illyria to think about it. “…but does he love you?”

xiaoli contemplated declining the girl’s offer, but decided she had nowhere else to be. ‘sure, i don’t see why not,’ she wrote.

love. the word made her stop completely. she moved all the stones and bones to one side, forgoing her scrying entirely. “and how do you love valentine?”

xiaoli sighed as she looked over everyone in the classroom. science rooms were full of substances useful to wreck a place. ‘i’m not staying here, and i doubt the teacher will be back anytime soon.’

he’s my vally and i’m his tilly. illyria just frowned at the stones and bones, changing one or two things after she spoke. “are you saying you own him somehow?” she asked, giving away nothing in her tone.

she nodded at the girl’s answer. illyria began moving around the stones and bones, forming a pattern that only made sense to her. “vally?” she echoed, caught off guard. “matilda, why do you call him ‘vally’?”

If you were to take all the splendours of the sea and only such, you’d have unfathomable riches and wonder. Likewise, if you only took the dangers of the sea and only valued them, no one would even go beyond the shoreline. To marvel at the sea, you had to accept the risk of what lies beneath the waves. The Dalmas were tricky that way– they all embodied what it meant to love the sea. Valentine, his eyes trailing down to where their hands touched, was never more grateful to another person than he was to her.

Even with his heart out of his chest, it felt like his hand had been enveloped with a soft glow of a warm hearth. Something that felt like home. More like home than the salty aroma of crashing waves. It made him wonder just how much of himself he had given away. Had he found his weakness?

“Your Vally,” he repeated as if saying so would make everything so much more definite. He moved to take her hand in his, instead of the soft, gentle touch. He held hers, his thumb rubbing against her skin as an affectionate gesture. He couldn’t recall the last time he held someone’s hand in the way that he did hers. 

When he looked back at Matilda, his expression was soft. “And what of you, Tilly? Do you still belong to you?” The question wasn’t condescending. His tone, unusually gentle, was meant to show that the choice was always hers to make. He wasn’t the most honourable person, he’d understand if she didn’t want to be his. No matter what, at least now she knew that he was always going to be hers.

as a small heffalump, she had hardly ever left heffalump hollow. she had always been afraid. she’d always been fearful of anything outside of what she knew --- even the rest of the very wood that she’d grown up in had seemed terrifying to her. now, though? she no longer felt afraid. loving valentine was like going on the adventure to find the sea every day, and she lived for it. it was something that she had once been fearful of, something outside of what she knew, and she was no longer afraid.

she looked down at their hands, heartbeat quickening when he took her hand in his. the touch made her feel warm and light, and she squeezed his hand gently. finally lifting her gaze, once again, she looked at his face, and a smile broke out on her lips.

at his question, she paused. not because she didn’t know the answer --- she knew the answer very well. no, she paused because she had never been asked such a question, and she wanted to answer it perfectly.

Bridget clung to her friend feeling her tears rush down her cheeks. “But..It’s not Tilly. I could have hurt you..’ she replied, her voice almost a whisper. “I just wanted to be you know.. normal.” there was a tremble in her voice as she spoke, one she wished would go away.