In the wake of Gabriel’s near-fatal attack, Sophia had dedicated every ounce of herself to not just the well-being of her husband, but the upkeep of their kingdom as well. There would be no time to shed tears, or to consider for even a moment that her king’s life was in jeopardy. No - the nymph had been given no choice but to maintain her fealty to the people of Night Court, all the while serving as Gabriel’s main healer throughout the entirety of his recovery. He was finally on the mend, and she was all the more relieved because of it, but their battle was far from won, and with Dawn rising swiftly more and more with each day that passed - appearing strong and filled to the brim with fortitude was more important than ever before. Along with the Garden and the Wild Hunt, the Kingdom of Nightmares was an incredible formidable court, and a powerhouse once combined with their allies, but it was the uncertainty surrounding Autumn and the inherently diabolical nature of Lumenopolis that worried her the most. For now, though, she was taking her first night off in weeks; Gabriel was resting, and Kael would be checking in on him after his meeting in the War Room, which meant that Sophia could check in on her most unlikely friend.
She hadn’t expected to develop as close of a bond with Jacqueline Dubois as she had. At their first meeting, she had been instantly repelled by the advisor’s duplicitous nature, the way that she so easily switched from one mask to the next; as someone who had always worn her heart on her sleeve for the world to see, coming face to face with someone as wildly insincere as Jacqueline had been more than a little jarring. Now, though, eyes that had once seemed vicious and cruel shone to her with a haunting sort of sorrow instead, a vulnerability she had not once expected to see, and it was as if Jacqueline had spent the last seven or so months having her heart broken over and over again, and was only just now figuring out what to do with the pieces.
The royal advisor’s expression might have been painted carefully blank, but her eyes were like wounds in her face as she spoke. The two women were lounging in the sweetly-scented, steamy waters of Jacqueline’s own private hot springs, and Sophia listened carefully to each word that fell almost hesitantly from her quivering lips. Gabriel had told her as much that he hadn’t approved of any of Jacqueline’s former lovers, and would never approve of them if they weren’t from Night Court, but Sophia understood all too well what it was like to fall for someone across enemy lines. Celine. Alexander. Raymond. There hadn’t been an alliance in all of Astralis strong enough to stop her from feeling the way that she once did. “It was not always so simple, I’m afraid, and for a very long time, it provided me with no such comfort at all,” Sophia said softly, and she shifted closer to Jacqueline to gracefully drop a lush, ruby-red strawberry into her glass of wine - the only way she’d ever be able to get any ounce of vitamin c into the waif of a fae.
“S’il vous plait, it is only recently that mon roi and mon loup and I have come together as one singular whole; a completed puzzle instead of pieces scattered hopelessly across the floor. It was not easy, and I…was not so quick to put an end to my own fleeting romances,” she admitted with a feather-light sigh, before sinking languidly into the steaming water, taking her time beneath the surface before reappearing as golden and as glimmering as Venus herself bursting free from her seashell. She smoothed back her long honey-blonde hair, and swam right up to Jacqueline, resting her hands gently upon the other woman’s knees in the water as she looked up at her and smiled, fond and affectionate, and said, “You will find someone who loves you the way that you deserve, cher ami. Someone who adores you for everything that you are, and not in spite of it. And do not listen to what mon roi has to say about it needing to be une chauve-souris de nuit; there are plenty of wonderful men to be found all throughout Astralis. I know this very well.”
The creature comforts afforded to Jacqueline was more than anyone’s fair share. As was the nature of any high-ranking nobility. There was no absence of wealth, influence, and freedom in her life. Whatever was in Gabriel’s capacity to give, he had given long ago. While such a life was a welcome reprieve, on the heels of the Dubois’ torrid past, it left a gaping black hole where some would have a heart. The parade of lovers and victims, the torched friendships, and the resistance to change -- all efforts to bring some semblance of feeling that was not rage or bitterness. It was a feat accomplished by both her brothers, raised in the very same hell fires. Just as it was something the Lord Beaumont himself accomplished. First, with Kael. And now, with his High Lady. The monsters that roamed the Jeweled City managed it all... Except for Jacqueline herself.
It was selfish, perhaps, to care of something as lofty and unattainable as joy. Least of all, in the midst of the mayhem that plagued Astralis itself. The endless attacks of a Resistance, married with the ever-changing alliances, meant danger was promised. Yet the turbulent few months only allowed her to see just how unhappy she had been. Even the High Lady herself, showed signs of its weight on her otherwise weightless shoulders. Sophia Beaumont may carry with her indisputable beauty and affectionate grace, but Jacqueline had witnessed the hardships that came of her new position. Some of it, by the Royal Advisor’s own hand. The isolation, the resounding conflict of her affections, and now the risk of their rivals. Well, the beloved nymph may carry herself with grace, but joy was not the only emotion she evoked either. And perhaps, that was what forged their bond. The surrender of the images they once painted for one another, in favor of something more grounded. Jacqueline could only claim one true, female friendship. And it was a fae, set to wed the Dawn Court’s High Lord. Despite herself, there was comfort in the tender approach Sophia exhibited. A far cry from the endless, masculine angst evoked by Gabriel and Kael in between poetry readings and talks of war.
“Matters of the heart never are. So say the poets, so say I.” A nymphet like herself knew first-hand, the complexities of a beating heart. While Jacqueline’s was hardened and cold, it still cracked as any bleeding heart would. Her hands carried the pieces now; the loss of the Captain of the Guard she once loved so and the growing distance between herself and Spring’s very own, tore her to pieces. A realization that neither her as a lover, or a monster, ever truly suffices in the minds of men. A discerning eye passes over her wine, a crinkle of her nose at the present strawberry propped by Sophia herself. A bastardization of her beverage, perhaps, but there’s a sentiment there. A mother-like aspect that could only ever be thought of as unfamiliar. Her eyes are blanketed with thought, as she feels Sophia sink into the rose-and-lavender scented waters. Emerging so that she may rest her head atop her knees. An action that, had it been as short as two months ago, would prompt a vicious snarl of contempt. Instead, she only passively purses her lips, shaking her head lightly.
“It seems to be working itself out, is it not?” Jacqueline rarely pried in the intimacy of Gabriel’s relations, yet by Sophia’s own volition, it seemed appropriate enough to discuss. “So long as all are in agreement on the matter, anyways.” She prefaces, knowing only the nymph’s take on the triumvirate that was herself, Gabriel, and Kael. It was a discussion not yet shared with Gabriel himself, given his present condition. “You would know it well, wouldn’t you?” Such a phrase may have been duplicitous or catty in the past, but she allows a taunting smile to shine through. A small recognition that Sophia was now privy to Jacqueline’s better-spirited taunts. “Our Lord is very particular, indeed. But, I fear it’s not love or adoration I am missing. Something else, entirely.” She bites her lip, debating the intimacy of her confession. Finally, she exhales in surrender. “An ability to find someone who I can see it through with, I suppose. Self-destructive creature, and all that. I find I can only love and be loved in turn, when it’s at the heat of passion. Something that lasts, though? Seemingly out of reach.” Jacqueline lightly pulls away a stray, damp hair from Sophia’s forehead. “My brothers knew the same childhood that I did. Yet both have found a way to accomplish such a task. It begs a larger question, doesn’t it?”
dededos
blakekathryn
jacobvanloon
turnnoffyourmind
andulkaphoto
