#diminette

Annette is able to watch them fall in stages.

Two people so utterly in tune with one another, even when only the harshest of words are exchanged between the two.

It begins before she even knows either of their names, her first day at the academy.

She remembers the raven haired boy parry against the golden prince.

She watched them dance, like billowing ribbons, they twist, and dodge, and fight.

When the golden prince strikes the swordsman with a final blow, she never forgets the way his eyes twinkles, how he leans over to offer his hand to the swordsman. She watches them touch, so briefly, and somehow she feels shivers down her spine.

—-

When she is first introduced to the prince, he does not recognize her.

He talks of his peers, his childhood friends, his mentors, his studies— and it becomes clear he is too friendly to be royalty. He is kind, and thoughtful, and touches her hand like it is glass.

“Please call me Dimitri,” he says.

She never will, not until it is too late.

—-

When she is first introduced to the swordsman, he scoffs at her.

His amber eyes are narrowed, accessing. He is curt, mean, with no mind of manners, and he does not offer his hand.

She is relieved, to be honest, because she is sure the touch will burn.

When she asks him of the prince, his eyes change. They spark, crackling embers, and he warns her of the monster inside.

She doesn't know how to tell Felix that if his highness is a boar, then he is a wolf. His wrath, his anger, his pain, they all point to him being the predator.

They are both wrong about Dimitri— he is a lion. A desolate, rageful, but allmighty, lion.

—-

Annette has never seen anyone spar more of the two of them. Felix and Dimitri fight like animals, at every opportunity, with their weapons, with their hands, with their tongues.

They tear each other apart, ripping skin, breaking bones, spilling blood— Their fighting is erotic somehow, she cannot tear her eyes away.

It is in the training grounds where she watches them kiss for the first time. As Dimitri clutches Felix against him, fist in his hair, arm around his waist.

They kiss desperately, like they know their time is limited.

Her heart aches. She knows she loves them both.

—-

Annette isn’t good at staying on the sidelines.

In battle, she is reckless. She casts every rune like it will be her last.

Her friends are concerned, sure, but they do not see the scars that hide behind her skin. The heart that has fully cracked in two.

When will she love those who are capable of loving her back?

It is the last thought she remembers, before the flash of lighting strikes her.

She secretly hopes it is the end.

—-

The goddess is merciful, because Annette wakes the next morning. With bleary lids and heavy limbs, she tries to focus on the details around her.

The world is blurred, and her head is still throbbing.

Someone is calling her. A soft masculine voice, kind and gentle

“Annette?”

Her hands are warm, encased in tight, firm, tender heat. The hold wrapped around her fingers squeeze, and she can feel how calloused and large the hands are compared to her own.

Someone calls her name again. A deeper cracked voice, filled with fear and anguish.

“Annette?”

When she finally blinks her eyes open, two sets of arms smother her.

It is them, the halves of her cracked heart. Her prince and her swordsman.

Dimitri crossed his arms, grinning. “Is anybody home?” He asked.

Stone blue eyes on a pale, round face peeked out from between two blankets. “What’s the password?” Chanson asked. Static made his blond hair stick up a little at the back.

Kneeling down, Dimitri, recalling what their lesson was to be today, said, “Arianrhod?”

“Wrong!”

“Do I get another guess?” 

Chanson giggled and disappeared back into the blanket fort. 

“What’s going on?” Dimitri looked up to find Annette in the doorway. She raised an eyebrow when she saw him. “Is something wrong, Dimitri?”

“Only that I failed to guess the password. The boys won’t let me in.” More giggles came from beyond the blankets.

Annette knelt beside Dimitri. “Can I have a try?”

Ronen poked his head out next. With Duscur brown skin and dark hair, he looked almost the polar opposite of Chanson. But somehow the brothers shared the same smile. “One guess!” 

“A flash and then a big boom!“ Annette sang more than said. Ronen gave a whoop and ducked back inside, holding the flap open for them.

Dimitri pressed a kiss to Annette’s giggling mouth. “Thank you, beloved. How did you know that?”

“They’ve been obsessed with that song this week.” Annette laughed when Dimitri peppered more kisses over her cheeks. “Stop that! Let’s go in!”

Inside had probably been roomier for two boys barely 7, but it was a tight fit for two boys and two adults. Annette was able to sit cross legged with Ronen in her lap while Dimitri lay on his stomach with his legs sticking out the flap.

“What’s that?” Chanson asked, tugging at the letter Dimitri still held. 

“An invitation.” Dimitri looked to Annette. “An invitation to Felix and Ferdinand’s wedding.”

Annette gasped and all but tore the letter from Dimitri to read it herself. “Finally! I thought they’d never pick a date!” 

Ronen looked more confused than excited. “Uncle Felix and Uncle Ferdinand aren’t married?” He asked.

“Yes they are!” Chanson protested. “They live together and everything. Right, Mama?”

“They aren’t married yet,” Annette explained. “But they’ve been together a long time, so it felt like they were. Now we have to come up with a wedding gift...”

The boys began throwing out ideas at once, each more ill-suited than the last. Annette listened to them with a patient smile she usually used on her students. Though when Ronen suggested they all perform a song together, she outright laughed. It made Dimitri want to kiss her again.

Someone outside cleared their throat pointedly. Dimitri shuffled backward out of the tent and sat up, looking around. One of the castle cooks stood flanked by two servants holding platters of food. “I was told to bring lunch to the family room?” The cook said with a polite curtsy.