#duskcrown

          𝐇𝐄’𝐒  𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐍  𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆  practically  his  entire  life  with  a  sword,  and  it  was  effortless  now,  like  breathing.  before  he’d  come  to  palmeria,  hours  of  his  days  were  spent  earning  enough  scratches  and  marks  to  built  his  tough  skin,  and  calloused  fingers  reflect  that  plenty.  but  astraea  was  a  princess,  and  this  wasn’t  her  strength;      but  that’s  why  he  has  a  practice  blade  in  her  hands  now.  cade  moves  like  a  dance  with  his  own  practice  blade,  true  obsidian  one  remaining  at  his  side.      (they  have  this  opportunity  now,  with  the  time  on  their  hands:      she  should  learn  all  she  can,  and  who  better  to  teach  it  to  her?)      the  more  proficient  she  is,  the  stronger  her  party  will  be,  the  hope  being  that  THEY  NEVER  HAVE  TO  SUFFER  like  they’d  done  at  the  beginning  of  the  school  year.  and  he’s  walked  her  through  several  different  steps  already,  though  he  hasn’t  allowed  her  a  victory  yet,  knowing  he’s  tiring  her  out.  in  the  next  flurry  of  blows,  the  wooden  tip  rests  under  her  chin  —  the  look  shared  between  them  is  far  too  loud  for  a  training  room  —  before  it’s  lowered  once  again.  it  twirls  in  his  hand  once,  twice,  before  he  sheathes  it  on  his  back,  slight  smile  on  his  face.      “don’t  worry,  we  can  take  all  the  time  you  need.”      the  fighter  takes  a  careful  step  forward,  fingers  curled  around  her  chin  to  look  her  over,  check  for  any  injuries,  before  swallowing  and  stepping  back,  awkward  laugh  tumbling  from  his  lips.      “sorry,  i  wanted  to  make  sure  you  were  —  i  wanted  to  make  sure  I  DIDN’T  HURT  YOU.”      he  hasn’t  allowed  himself  to  be  gentle,  and  doing  so  alone  has  made  him  balk.  clearing  his  throat  and  running  a  hand  through  messy  hair,  cade  stands  a  little  straighter.      “how  did  that  one  feel?  better?”

❝ i... i don’t... ❞   elsie doesn’t recognize the voice, and she doesn’t remember very much of what’s happened to her. she’s lying on cold ground. she thinks she can feel pain seeping into her as she regains consciousness. did she imagine the blinding starlight she thought had filled the air only heartbeats ago? the woman hovering over her now, eyes wide with worry, is probably the most beautiful person she’s ever seen.   ❝ are you... real? you can’t.. be real. ❞

          𝐒𝐇𝐄  𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐔𝐄𝐒  𝐓𝐎  pull  him  along  the  paths,  and  he  can’t  help  but  grin  with  her,  allowing  himself  for  just  a  moment  to  experience  the  joy  she  found  in  the  simplest  of  things.  it’s  then  he  lets  himself  talk  with  no  filter.      “i  wish  i  could  show  you  my  home,  but  —  well,  it  was  never  home,  i  guess.”      it  wasn’t  a  complete  lie  to  say  that  either.  there  were  bits  of  his  past  where  he  felt  at  home:      sitting  in  his  mother’s  garden,  thinking  of  the  few  memories  he  had  of  her,  or  his  time  spent  with  kai,  not  allowing  himself  to  think  about  anything  else.  but  it  wasn’t  home.      (if  anything,  cade  has  always  found  home  to  be  more  of  a  person  than  a  place,  which  is  why  his  definition  of  the  word  is  so  much  more  loose).      he  traces  his  fingers  along  a  flower’s  petal,  before  turning  to  look  at  astraea,  admiring  her  beauty  more  than  anything  else  around  them.  of  course  home  is  a  person;      HE’S  LOOKING  RIGHT  AT  IT.      “home’s  here.  with  you.”      and  he  thinks  it  means  more,  considering  they’re  in  her  kingdom  of  all  places.  this  certainly  isn’t  somewhere  he’d  like  to  spend  the  rest  of  his  days,  not  with  the  way  astraea  had  been  treated  all  day.      (hell,  he’d  probably  get  in  a  fight  with  one  of  them  within  the  next  day  or  so  if  they  didn’t  keep  their  mouths  shut).      but  he  manages  a  soft  smile,  squeezing  her  hand  gently.  he’d  follow  her  anywhere.  that  much  he  knows.

          𝐇𝐄  𝐇𝐀𝐒𝐍’𝐓  𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐍  able  to  get  the  knight’s  words  out  of  his  mind  —  they  want  astraea  back,  treating  her  running  off  like  it’s  a  child’s  naive  whimsey  of  a  different  life.  stepping  in  front  of  her  had  been  nearly  instinctual,  no  matter  how  dangerous  a  move  it  was,  and  he  doesn’t  regret  it  at  all.  still,  there’s  a  part  of  him  that  wonders  what  will  happen  if  they  travel  all  the  way  to  her  home,  just  to  be  told  she  can’t  go  back  with  them?      (it’s  not  a  question  of  if  she  chooses  him  or  not  in  this;      SHE  HAS  CHOSEN  HERE,  and  that’s  what’s  important).      arms  folded  under  his  head  and  staring  at  the  ceiling,  cade  considers  her  words.  he  doesn’t  realize  how  tense  he  was  until  this  moment,  and  he  lets  out  a  breath,  an  attempt  at  relaxing.      “honestly?  i  don’t  like  the  idea  of  it.”      he  closes  his  eyes  for  a  moment,  a  thousand  terrible  possibilities  flashing  behind  his  eyelids.      “there’s  too  many  things  that  could  go  wrong,  just  on  the  journey  there  alone.  not  to  mention  what  could  happen  when  we  get  there.”      the  fighter  tries  not  to  be  a  pessimist,  but  sometimes  he  can’t  help  it.  and  then  he  realizes  how  terrible  he  sounds,  like  he’s  being  possessive  and  overprotective  when  all  he  wants  is  for  astraea  to  get  to  be  herself.  he  opens  his  eyes  then,  propping  himself  up  on  an  elbow  and  biting  his  lip.      “i  also  don’t  want  you  to  spend  the  next  few  weeks,  months,  whatever,  afraid  of  what’s  coming.  and  you  deserve  a  chance  to  tell  them  how  you  feel,  what  you  want,  so  they  won’t  pull  something  like  this  again.”      he  knows  what  it’s  like,  to  have  the  burning  need  to  stand  up  for  oneself.      (THAT  HAS  LED  TO  BLOOD  HE  STILL  HASN’T  MANAGED  TO  WASH  OFF).      he  pushes  himself  up  to  sitting,  reaching  out  to  cup  her  face,  thumb  tracing  gently  along  her  cheek.  the  look  in  his  eyes  shows  the  love  he  feels,  the  trust  he  has  in  her  decisions,  the  nervousness  of  all  that  could  go  wrong.      “regardless,  i  go  where  you  do.  if  you  want  to  go,  i’ll  be  there  by  your  side.  i  promise.”      cade  can’t  help  the  slight  smile  then,  pressing  a  kiss  to  her  temple.      “plus,  you  can  show  me  the  gardens  you’ve  told  me  so  much  about.”

       “ why do you think i invited everyone here for the holidays? i’ve missed you all so much!!! i’m so glad you could make it! “

✧  “caught  between  wanting  to  snatch  that  gem  from  around  her  neck,  and  not  wanting  to  disturb  the  pendant's  perfect  placement  on  her  chest.”