#roxalie

Mariella is by the balcony with her hands folded and her head bowed in prayer. Her lips move wordlessly as she finishes the prayer. She then gets up brushing the front of her dress before turning to smile politely. "I apologize I heard you enter but I was finishing my prayers." She begins to explain before she makes her way over. She picks up the sides of her skirts bowing her head and giving a polite curtsy. "I am Lady Mariella Lannister it is a pleasure to meet you."

"Your Highness," she fell into a neat curtsy, not quite being able to hide her bright smile. Although the apothecary shop did not belong to her, many of the herbal remedies, tinctures and cosmetics for sale on the shelves were her own concoctions and had rapidly become very popular across the city. She had not realised, however, that news had spread to the royal family!

"It is an honour," she clasped her hands together in front of her. "Can I help you to find anything in particular?"

crimson eyes were soft for a moment, gentle in a way he rarely allowed himself to be. but the warmth didn't last. slowly, almost painfully, it faded into something colder again. it wasn't her fault and neither was his but the truth stood between them like a shadow he could not escape. he did not belong to her world. he never had. and he could never stay for long. there was a realm waiting for him, a throne carved out of darkness and duty, one he could not abandon. just as she had her own life, her own light, one he had no right to dim.

❝ all we did was care fro each other ❞ his voice was low, steady despite the weight behind it. because that part was true painfully true. ❝ but that had to end ... i'm sorry. ❞ and he was. truly. even if the apology changed nothing of what fate had already decided.

the scent of sea and salt followed him wherever he went. it clung to the air around him subtle yet unmistakable, like the breath of the tide itself. for a moment he had remained behind, silent and still watching as the other female approached the water. his ocean blue eyes followed her every step, curious ... dangerously so.

he did not move at first. he simple observed, the way she walked, the way the wind brushed against her, the way the waves slowly stretched themselves closer to her feet as if greeting something they recognized. only when the water finally reached her did he move, and when he did, he moved as swiftly and quietly as the tide itself. in one moment she had been completely alone. in the next, he stood behind her as if he had always been there. and in truth ... he had. she had simply not been able to see him. not yet. but if she were perceptive enough, she might have sensed the shift in the air ... or the faint scent of salt that now lingered closer than before.

He wasn't convinced by her words. He could sense a fear in her. She was running from something, or trying to. It was clear that this human was hiding something. He could see right through her. There was a secret here to unlock. Something that no one was willing to talk about. It was about safety. So, why the hell did the gods send him here? "Too late." He responds. He's unnaturally calm, his expression holds no value of what he's really feeling. He learned to control his emotions and bury them long ago. They only got in the way, a distraction. He was guardian, a warrior. He was forged by the gods, but also still tied to hell as well. It was a war he had to battle each day. A struggle to not spiral into darkness. "So, tell me why a princess needs saving, hm? "