#dexxcinesis

"Need a light?" Two blinks, a sniffle, and a throat clear. It'd be a fucking lie to say he isn't scared shitless, but he's good at keeping a cool head in these types of situations.

the feast was a riot of noise and color, spectacle designed to display the king’s wealth and power, and solana played her part perfectly, laughing at the right moments, touching her husband’s arm with feigned affection. she waited until the king was roaring drunk, his attention captured by a bard’s song, before she leaned slightly toward kaliban, who sat at the high table’s right hand. "he trusts you implicitly, you know." she murmured, her words barely audible beneath the din, her eyes fixed on her goblet as she swirled the wine. "it is his greatest weakness, this belief that loyalty can be bought with titles and gold." she took a small sip, letting the silence stretch between them, a void waiting to be filled with his panic. "he does not see the ambition in your eyes when you look at his chair, but i do." | @dexxcinesis

“i don’t need a doctor.” though alix can appreciate they’re probably a valuable asset these days in wider communities. not that she’d ever want to bother with something like that. even if loneliness is eating her up inside she’s not stupid enough to get involved with a large group. she doesn’t want to think about the politics of it. she can’t think about anything right now though, instead focusing on the man ahead of her as he rambles on and on. “yeah. it’s mine.” her eyes scan over their surroundings but they never leave him for long. she can’t trust that he’s alone. what if he’s just the distraction when someone else sneaks up behind her? alix creeps closer to him, not lowering her weapon yet. “i think i’ll make the decisions here,” she insists, “you know. considering.” she doesn’t think she needs to state the obvious to him and that’s that she is the one with a gun pointed at him. “it is the middle of the forest and so i revert back to my first question, what are you doing out here? people don’t come through often.” none that she interacts with, at least. “are you with others?”

she  pauses,  letting  out  a  soft,  delicate  sigh.  as  the  breath  leaves  her,  the  warmth  vanishes  from  her  eyes  entirely,  replaced  by  the  cold,  unwavering  zeal  of  a  judge  who  has  outgrown  the  need  for  human  mercy.  “ now,  i  do  not  appreciate  a  lamb  who  snoops  around  my  pastures, ”  tone  dropping  into  an  eerie  register.  “ proverbs  tells  us  that  he  who  winks  with  the  eye  causes  trouble,  and  a  prating  fool  shall  fall.  you  shouldn’t  be  wandering  into  places  where  you  haven't  been  invited,  sugar. ” leans  a  fraction  closer.  “ so  why  don't  you  help  me  understand  what  those  pretty  little  eyes  of  yours  think  they  saw?  tell  me  how  that  heart  of  yours  interprets  the  lord’s  work,  and  then  from  there,  him  and  i  will  decide  what  needs  to  be  done  with  you  next.  let's  start  from  the  beginning,  darlin’.  the  gentleman  you  saw  me  with  out  in  the  garden...  what  exactly  do  you  think  happened  to  him? ”

found beneath the high-end opulence of excessive floral arrangements and crystal glasses was a hollowness that persisted in theodore. his wife was the ‘right choice,’ she tolerated his uncouth behavior and made good with his family. no bite to her, just blind obedience in a beautiful package. he convinced himself he could follow his family's wishes until today, when he faced the ghost of his past, dressed in something unforgettable. theodore escaped to the private balcony for a breath away from chaos and awkward congratulations delivered through tight-lipped smiles, following a trail of sweet perfume maeve left in her wake. she stood out starkly against the dark tapestry of night. a star in the flesh. "quite the performance you put on," he said in place of a proper greeting, "those last two songs were really, uh..." hesitation. for once, he was concerned about sounding too self-absorbed by acknowledging parallels to himself in her lyrics. "...something."

"you're here!" sapphire announced while wrapping her arms around maeve. her tone was equal parts excitment and relief. "for a second i was scared you were going to be a no-show." she admitted, leaning in to prevent anyone from overhearing her. sapphire was too confident and well-known to beg for someone's attention. at least that's what she wanted her sycophants to believe. "waiting for you made me feel like gatsby staring across the sound." she remarked, referencing one of the few set texts she enjoyed in high school. it was an apt comparison : she and gatsby both threw lavish parties in the hope a specific woman would attend.

"god, i'm so fucking done!" she admits with a groan, hands covering her expression then. the expletive sounds foreign out of her mouth. it wasn't often that she did swear. she'd been raised to be a lady and she'd taken those lessons seriously. prided herself on her ability to take everything in her stride. for what, though? that's what she was questioning now. "they know i'm a more qualified, more talented dancer but because i have - what - four years on their latest beauty, they've given the role of victoria to her instead." cue the gentle pout, as she shifts position to face them better, "please tell me your day was more successful and productive. make my day."

She has encountered people with a range of requests, from love potions to immortality it seemed a life of normality was not what people wanted these days. To Demre it didn't really matter why someone wants something, so long as they are willing to pay the price she will gift them whatever their heart desires. "You are the king's hand, you hold no right to claim the throne from him as he has heirs." She took silent steps towards Kaliban, her eyes never once leaving his as she approached him. "I see the hunger in your eyes, the desperation to sit on a throne as the ruler of our kingdom and yet it is just out of your reach." Demre places a gentle hand on his shoulder as she circles around to his back, pressing herself against him as she leaned in to whisper against his ear. "So tell me, if I give you the throne, a crown upon your head and a kingdom bending knee at your feet, just what are you willing to give me in return?"