#eaglrd

          a meeting between the emperor & the prime minister - to - be was not an uncommon occurrence. since he’d proven his worth to his lady on the field of battle, he’d been allowed more & more privileges, more & more trust. and so it became that they took the time to look over maps, side - by - side, shoulder - to - shoulder. ( it is difficult for his gaze to not stray, following the curvature of her face, the slope of her nose, her intense focus on the placement of the chess pieces they’d chosen to represent troops, powers, & a multitude of other things ). the knight is moved in tandem with the king; a strand of snowy - white hair catches his eye as it falls into edelgard’s vision. she tries to brush it aside, but it goes right back. ferdinand chuckles at the sight, pointing out that it was due to her uncommon, messy style that was the reason for her continuous nuisance. his cheekiness is met with a playful swat.

          ❛ maybe if her majesty sat her imperial behind down, i could provide some assistance, perchance ? ❜ there’s an almost uncharacteristic tinge of sarcasm to his words --- noted by edelgard’s reaction to it --- & he breaks away, for a beat, from his usual manner of speaking, teasing, poking, prodding. ❛ well ? will you, dearest edelgard ? ❜ he waits so very eagerly for her to seat herself in the chair he pulls from the table. ( hubert was having the most awful effect on his noble personality ). once she complies, ferdinand spares her an easy grin & he makes to discard his gloves for the sake of increased dexterity. then, hands work to pull her hair loose from its flimsy style ... & he cannot quite help allowing fingers to trail through white tresses a bit more than necessary as he guides them into a braid. it takes much for him to refrain from commenting.

          ❛ i find tending to hair to be quite soothing, ❜ he says instead, humming to himself as he takes more strands into the braid. ❛ i’d have offered before, but i was always under the assumption that our hubert handled such things. ❜ along with all the other things that their lady required to be done each & every morn & eve, that is. he wonders, briefly, how far devotion in that regard would extend before dismissing it with a laugh to himself. those thoughts ... they were not to be entertained.

          ❛ there. ❜ as soon as he’s done, he asks her to stand & face him so that he could admire his work. one of his better braids, he thinks; it begets a softer sort of smile when he notices a strand that he’d missed & reaches out to tuck it behind her ear. he lingers there for a moment, his heart swelling as his eyes meet hers.

yell at.

              nightly strolls we never an uncommon occurrence,     for slumber’s ease was but myth in von riegan’s mind.     blame belongs to none other than he,     countless thoughts conjured by none other than him,     intruding thoughts of forthcoming dirty tactics    &    schemes to attain the glory of victory by the end of the month.     (   albeit laughs were shared,     camaraderie’s dulcet wish granted,    lingering promise of death ever closer   )     amusing,     how such worries shall never be presented onto the meticulously structured mask,     obstructing any attempt at forming even slightest of cracks on it.     facade comes in the form of a smile,     innate    &    innocuous,     select few able to see through it.

❛ ♪ And I will work this body, I will burn this flame Oh, in the dead of night, and in the pouring rain Yeah, I'm a workaholic and I swear, I swear Yeah, one day I will beat you fair and square ♪ ❜

          lips would part & his eyes would settle upon hers, how they looked up at him, almost as if she was expectant. of another advance by him, or did she expect him to back down ? he could not definitively say — but he could say this: it was not any amount of dislike that resided within her voice. it had been soft, a quiet admonishment & nothing more. if anything, ferdinand, in his competitiveness, takes it as a challenge to do just that. to kiss her again & again until this lady should undo him for his hubris. the idea makes him bold & he draws close once more, even as he was certain that the warmth of his face wouldn’t go unnoticed. he pauses a hairbreadth away from plush lips.

          ❛ yet, i do not see you pulling away, edelgard. ❜ she was more than able to & he did not hold her too tightly as to make such a thing more difficult to achieve. he was gentle & warm, & so very worried about harming the bond that they shared.

          a hand would travel to settle lightly at the side of her face, the other pressing to the small of her back & bringing her closer. then, he gingerly kisses her once more, sipping that sweet ambrosia from the source. would it be foolish to say that it was as if achieving godhood through only a fleeting & meaningful touch ? nay, nay — never was one’s apotheosis in vain.

shall we dance ~ ? / accepting

THOUGH HE WAS A NOBLE , and dancing was usually one of the premier priorities of learning once a noble child came of age , Hubert’s own role of serving Lady Edelgard meant that he was far too busy to have had any instruction in such frivolities . Furthermore , it’s not like the strategist really had any real interest in the activity , choosing to forsake learning it for more essential matters in his role as her right-hand man . Still , he almost wished he had taken at least a minute amount of instruction in the art of dance as the ball had come up quite sooner than he expected , and though he was not a social animal by any means , he would have imagined that he would have to dance at least once or twice to keep up appearances .

SO THE ARRIVAL OF HIS LIEGE was welcome ; he greeted her with a bow as per usual , yet near paused midway when she spoke – she was going to teach him ??? He felt in her debt , yet also a little conflicted ; it was his well kept secret that he may have harboured more than platonic feelings for the future emperor , and that became slightly evident by the rose flush that presented itself on his cheeks . Rather , he turned his head to the side to cover his blunder as she swiftly took his palms and held him in position , opting to take the leading role herself like the alpha female she was .