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A typical ride in the rain, that is one that didn’t include her pressed up against a very masculine body, was one of those little treasures in life that needed to be experienced. Different yet so similar were the feelings of riding in the rain and basking in the sun. There was some sort of comfort and cleansing in the rain sliding down your skin and the horse’s movements beneath you and the smell of wet leather.
All of that was being deeply disturbed by the warmth radiating from the very male body rocking with each step up and against her own. Perhaps if her innocence hadn’t already been shed it would have been easier to put all of this out of her mind and wouldn’t have found the carnal connection in the touch and movement. Closing her eyes, she ground her teeth and internally fussed at herself for making this something very awkward just for her own conceited need for a victory. It was her own bullheadedness that kept her from asking him to pull the horse to a stop and depositing his body back on the ground but that’d only enlighten him to the fact that she was aware.
No. She would not, could not, do that. She’d suck it up and make sure she simply was far more careful with the situation she placed herself in.
‘..I’ll walk again once the rain eases off. You may as well bed Altair down at the palati, its closer and you can’t tell me he won’t be well cared for.’
A shot of relief coursed through her and she made the fatal mistake of relaxing just a little bringing her faint form up against the shelter of his larger one. She knew the mistake the instant her body touched his and she jolted upright. It wasn’t decent of her. He was a married man for crying out loud and she was very shortly to be married herself… there should be no comforting touches.
Biting down on her bottom lip, she hazarded a glance at her horse who was moving along was gamely as could be asked of him.
‘You can take a carriage home then. I’m sure Theodora will give you something dry to put on.’
The cracked baritone of Achilleas was speaking all too close to her face and neck again and she had to look away from her horse. It was the only way she could put some space between herself and him. It also meant that his words hadn’t immediately settled into mind with any actual meaning. That is… until they did. Theodora. This wasn’t going to look right. Not that her overwhelmingly beautiful cousin had ever had any reason to doubt in her own charms. The woman was… Evangelina caught herself up. This was exactly why she was making this so much more awkward than it was.
Whatever she was reading into this… it was in her overactive imagination because at the end of the day, Achilleas had Theodora. Evangelina probably felt little more than like a boy sitting in front of Achilleas. Despite finding some comfort in that thought there was also a some tucked away part of her that was minorly miffed at that comfort. Gavriil had quite definitely not found her boyish. Squaring her shoulders she decided she wasn’t going to burden her mind with comparisons to Theo. Theo was happily married to Achilleas and very soon she and Gavriil would start their own life and he was the only man who mattered to her.
“That’s very gracious of you. Thank you.” There was a faint smile in her voice but it somehow didn’t quite reach deep within her like usual.
As they approached the trees, tension seemed to let out of her and she let her body soften a little as a sigh escaped.
“We’ve made it to the trees, although I’m not certain it saved us from the soaking.” Evangelina wiped her eyes and let them adjust. The canopy of trees grew thicker the deeper in you rode, pointing to a splitting of the trail ahead. “I can never remember if we go right or if we go left here but there is a short cut back on one of the ways.” She pressed her lips together and stared at them not wanting to remind him if the wrong path was taken they’d just circle back here.
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Check out their information page here.
This character is currently a work in progress.
Check out their information page here.
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A typical ride in the rain, that is one that didn’t include her pressed up against a very masculine body, was one of those little treasures in life that needed to be experienced. Different yet so similar were the feelings of riding in the rain and basking in the sun. There was some sort of comfort and cleansing in the rain sliding down your skin and the horse’s movements beneath you and the smell of wet leather.
All of that was being deeply disturbed by the warmth radiating from the very male body rocking with each step up and against her own. Perhaps if her innocence hadn’t already been shed it would have been easier to put all of this out of her mind and wouldn’t have found the carnal connection in the touch and movement. Closing her eyes, she ground her teeth and internally fussed at herself for making this something very awkward just for her own conceited need for a victory. It was her own bullheadedness that kept her from asking him to pull the horse to a stop and depositing his body back on the ground but that’d only enlighten him to the fact that she was aware.
No. She would not, could not, do that. She’d suck it up and make sure she simply was far more careful with the situation she placed herself in.
‘..I’ll walk again once the rain eases off. You may as well bed Altair down at the palati, its closer and you can’t tell me he won’t be well cared for.’
A shot of relief coursed through her and she made the fatal mistake of relaxing just a little bringing her faint form up against the shelter of his larger one. She knew the mistake the instant her body touched his and she jolted upright. It wasn’t decent of her. He was a married man for crying out loud and she was very shortly to be married herself… there should be no comforting touches.
Biting down on her bottom lip, she hazarded a glance at her horse who was moving along was gamely as could be asked of him.
‘You can take a carriage home then. I’m sure Theodora will give you something dry to put on.’
The cracked baritone of Achilleas was speaking all too close to her face and neck again and she had to look away from her horse. It was the only way she could put some space between herself and him. It also meant that his words hadn’t immediately settled into mind with any actual meaning. That is… until they did. Theodora. This wasn’t going to look right. Not that her overwhelmingly beautiful cousin had ever had any reason to doubt in her own charms. The woman was… Evangelina caught herself up. This was exactly why she was making this so much more awkward than it was.
Whatever she was reading into this… it was in her overactive imagination because at the end of the day, Achilleas had Theodora. Evangelina probably felt little more than like a boy sitting in front of Achilleas. Despite finding some comfort in that thought there was also a some tucked away part of her that was minorly miffed at that comfort. Gavriil had quite definitely not found her boyish. Squaring her shoulders she decided she wasn’t going to burden her mind with comparisons to Theo. Theo was happily married to Achilleas and very soon she and Gavriil would start their own life and he was the only man who mattered to her.
“That’s very gracious of you. Thank you.” There was a faint smile in her voice but it somehow didn’t quite reach deep within her like usual.
As they approached the trees, tension seemed to let out of her and she let her body soften a little as a sigh escaped.
“We’ve made it to the trees, although I’m not certain it saved us from the soaking.” Evangelina wiped her eyes and let them adjust. The canopy of trees grew thicker the deeper in you rode, pointing to a splitting of the trail ahead. “I can never remember if we go right or if we go left here but there is a short cut back on one of the ways.” She pressed her lips together and stared at them not wanting to remind him if the wrong path was taken they’d just circle back here.
A typical ride in the rain, that is one that didn’t include her pressed up against a very masculine body, was one of those little treasures in life that needed to be experienced. Different yet so similar were the feelings of riding in the rain and basking in the sun. There was some sort of comfort and cleansing in the rain sliding down your skin and the horse’s movements beneath you and the smell of wet leather.
All of that was being deeply disturbed by the warmth radiating from the very male body rocking with each step up and against her own. Perhaps if her innocence hadn’t already been shed it would have been easier to put all of this out of her mind and wouldn’t have found the carnal connection in the touch and movement. Closing her eyes, she ground her teeth and internally fussed at herself for making this something very awkward just for her own conceited need for a victory. It was her own bullheadedness that kept her from asking him to pull the horse to a stop and depositing his body back on the ground but that’d only enlighten him to the fact that she was aware.
No. She would not, could not, do that. She’d suck it up and make sure she simply was far more careful with the situation she placed herself in.
‘..I’ll walk again once the rain eases off. You may as well bed Altair down at the palati, its closer and you can’t tell me he won’t be well cared for.’
A shot of relief coursed through her and she made the fatal mistake of relaxing just a little bringing her faint form up against the shelter of his larger one. She knew the mistake the instant her body touched his and she jolted upright. It wasn’t decent of her. He was a married man for crying out loud and she was very shortly to be married herself… there should be no comforting touches.
Biting down on her bottom lip, she hazarded a glance at her horse who was moving along was gamely as could be asked of him.
‘You can take a carriage home then. I’m sure Theodora will give you something dry to put on.’
The cracked baritone of Achilleas was speaking all too close to her face and neck again and she had to look away from her horse. It was the only way she could put some space between herself and him. It also meant that his words hadn’t immediately settled into mind with any actual meaning. That is… until they did. Theodora. This wasn’t going to look right. Not that her overwhelmingly beautiful cousin had ever had any reason to doubt in her own charms. The woman was… Evangelina caught herself up. This was exactly why she was making this so much more awkward than it was.
Whatever she was reading into this… it was in her overactive imagination because at the end of the day, Achilleas had Theodora. Evangelina probably felt little more than like a boy sitting in front of Achilleas. Despite finding some comfort in that thought there was also a some tucked away part of her that was minorly miffed at that comfort. Gavriil had quite definitely not found her boyish. Squaring her shoulders she decided she wasn’t going to burden her mind with comparisons to Theo. Theo was happily married to Achilleas and very soon she and Gavriil would start their own life and he was the only man who mattered to her.
“That’s very gracious of you. Thank you.” There was a faint smile in her voice but it somehow didn’t quite reach deep within her like usual.
As they approached the trees, tension seemed to let out of her and she let her body soften a little as a sigh escaped.
“We’ve made it to the trees, although I’m not certain it saved us from the soaking.” Evangelina wiped her eyes and let them adjust. The canopy of trees grew thicker the deeper in you rode, pointing to a splitting of the trail ahead. “I can never remember if we go right or if we go left here but there is a short cut back on one of the ways.” She pressed her lips together and stared at them not wanting to remind him if the wrong path was taken they’d just circle back here.
Life would have been much easier if Achilleas was as disaffected by Evie as she seemed to think him. Far from boyish, it was distracting and not at all unpleasant being in such proximity. Which only made it all the more obvious that he should have stuck with his original instincts and refused to ride together. Her closeness now, however innocent the intention might be, was not proper, and for a good reason. Amongst the scents of leather and horse and the damp petrichor smell, there was something sweet and floral that could be only Evangelina’s fragrance, and it hit him in a wave when she suddenly relaxed back against him, only to jerk away again as quickly.
Achilleas’ fingers tightened on the reins so that Amyntas shook his head in irritation, dancing sideways a little and making a show of his owner’s momentary lapse in concentration and drawing attention to it in a way that the man himself could have done without. Traitor, he thought quietly to himself before making a conscious effort to relax his hands so the horse would settle and he wouldn’t have to resist the reflexive reaction to tighten his arms around the young woman before him.
She was Leventi anyway, she could sit a horse.
When they reached the fringe of the trees, and the downpour lessened slightly, Achilleas slid perhaps a little too quickly from the big bay’s back, the faintest wash of colour cresting his cheeks. He stepped back from Amyntas and ran a hand through the dark hair on his head, almost black now it was wet. After spending a moment pointlessly trying to set himself to rights even the fastidious man was forced to abandon his attempts; it was hard to look anything other than sodden.
Achilleas gave a slightly brittle sounding laugh then at Evangelina’s assertion that the shelter had come too late. “Quite,” he said, Looking up to where the trail forked ahead he gave a brisk nod to the left-hand path, seemingly confident in the “It’s left.” A hand extended to take back the reins of the little grey, and Achilleas tensed slightly as he waited for any further protestations about him walking.
Finding himself letting out a little breath of relief when none came, he tried for some lighthearted conversation as they moved on, something that would distract from the lingering...whatever that was.
“Do you have plans yet for when the wedding will take place?” he inquired, leading Altair down the left-hand path he had been so sure of.
This character is currently a work in progress.
Check out their information page here.
This character is currently a work in progress.
Check out their information page here.
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Life would have been much easier if Achilleas was as disaffected by Evie as she seemed to think him. Far from boyish, it was distracting and not at all unpleasant being in such proximity. Which only made it all the more obvious that he should have stuck with his original instincts and refused to ride together. Her closeness now, however innocent the intention might be, was not proper, and for a good reason. Amongst the scents of leather and horse and the damp petrichor smell, there was something sweet and floral that could be only Evangelina’s fragrance, and it hit him in a wave when she suddenly relaxed back against him, only to jerk away again as quickly.
Achilleas’ fingers tightened on the reins so that Amyntas shook his head in irritation, dancing sideways a little and making a show of his owner’s momentary lapse in concentration and drawing attention to it in a way that the man himself could have done without. Traitor, he thought quietly to himself before making a conscious effort to relax his hands so the horse would settle and he wouldn’t have to resist the reflexive reaction to tighten his arms around the young woman before him.
She was Leventi anyway, she could sit a horse.
When they reached the fringe of the trees, and the downpour lessened slightly, Achilleas slid perhaps a little too quickly from the big bay’s back, the faintest wash of colour cresting his cheeks. He stepped back from Amyntas and ran a hand through the dark hair on his head, almost black now it was wet. After spending a moment pointlessly trying to set himself to rights even the fastidious man was forced to abandon his attempts; it was hard to look anything other than sodden.
Achilleas gave a slightly brittle sounding laugh then at Evangelina’s assertion that the shelter had come too late. “Quite,” he said, Looking up to where the trail forked ahead he gave a brisk nod to the left-hand path, seemingly confident in the “It’s left.” A hand extended to take back the reins of the little grey, and Achilleas tensed slightly as he waited for any further protestations about him walking.
Finding himself letting out a little breath of relief when none came, he tried for some lighthearted conversation as they moved on, something that would distract from the lingering...whatever that was.
“Do you have plans yet for when the wedding will take place?” he inquired, leading Altair down the left-hand path he had been so sure of.
Life would have been much easier if Achilleas was as disaffected by Evie as she seemed to think him. Far from boyish, it was distracting and not at all unpleasant being in such proximity. Which only made it all the more obvious that he should have stuck with his original instincts and refused to ride together. Her closeness now, however innocent the intention might be, was not proper, and for a good reason. Amongst the scents of leather and horse and the damp petrichor smell, there was something sweet and floral that could be only Evangelina’s fragrance, and it hit him in a wave when she suddenly relaxed back against him, only to jerk away again as quickly.
Achilleas’ fingers tightened on the reins so that Amyntas shook his head in irritation, dancing sideways a little and making a show of his owner’s momentary lapse in concentration and drawing attention to it in a way that the man himself could have done without. Traitor, he thought quietly to himself before making a conscious effort to relax his hands so the horse would settle and he wouldn’t have to resist the reflexive reaction to tighten his arms around the young woman before him.
She was Leventi anyway, she could sit a horse.
When they reached the fringe of the trees, and the downpour lessened slightly, Achilleas slid perhaps a little too quickly from the big bay’s back, the faintest wash of colour cresting his cheeks. He stepped back from Amyntas and ran a hand through the dark hair on his head, almost black now it was wet. After spending a moment pointlessly trying to set himself to rights even the fastidious man was forced to abandon his attempts; it was hard to look anything other than sodden.
Achilleas gave a slightly brittle sounding laugh then at Evangelina’s assertion that the shelter had come too late. “Quite,” he said, Looking up to where the trail forked ahead he gave a brisk nod to the left-hand path, seemingly confident in the “It’s left.” A hand extended to take back the reins of the little grey, and Achilleas tensed slightly as he waited for any further protestations about him walking.
Finding himself letting out a little breath of relief when none came, he tried for some lighthearted conversation as they moved on, something that would distract from the lingering...whatever that was.
“Do you have plans yet for when the wedding will take place?” he inquired, leading Altair down the left-hand path he had been so sure of.
You know those things that people drift off in thought of wanting to do? Those crazy small things like taking off all of your clothes and running straight into the ocean on an isolated beach. Or the incredible urge to gallop across the grasslands with your arms reaching up to Olympus as if you were trying to pull one of the Gods down from the sky to join you. Or howling at the moon like some wild creature, tossing your head back and just letting go of every deep unspoken emotion that has been bottled up tightly inside your soul. You know those things? Well, at that very moment Evangelina had the most intense desire to swing her legs off the horse right after Achilleas, unlacing her sandals, and running headlong into the wet forest. Letting her toes dig into the rich now wet dirt, to be a sprite flickering from tree to tree and listening to some ancient part of her soul calling to her.
This is where her mind was as Achilleas slipped off the horse behind her and suddenly the warmth of his body was gone. The cool air hit her back with an impact that stunned her out of her thoughts of sprites dancing in the wetlands and the way her toes would feel digging into the dirt. A hushed hiss escaped through her teeth and goosebumps rose up onto her arms. Her body slumped slightly in the saddle and she passed the reins of her horse to him without a word of discord.
‘It’s the left.’
His inarguable tone made her glance at the trail again and suddenly question whether it truly was the left or the right fork at the trail that would bring them back. The lines in her forehead creased and her teeth settled into the flesh of her bottom lip. No. She was pretty sure it was the right side of the trail that took them back to the city and the left that took them on the loop around. The lines of her face puckered up in thought and she was about to argue with him when he directed them down the left side of the path.
So we are going to the left it appears.
She closed her mouth and settled deeply into the saddle trying again to conjure up pictures of sprites and flowing chitons moving through the forest. It wasn’t as easy a second time to draw those thoughts up. It felt as if they were slipping away from her and she was losing something important. It tightened her chest and a slow panic started seeping deeply into her bones.
Breath in.... Breath out. Breath in… Breath… Her mind tried to focus on that simple little task but the idea that she was drawing closer to the city was starting to send her into a panic. She wasn’t ready to go back. She wasn’t ready to don that mask of Leventi perfection that never seemed to fit her quite properly enough. She wasn’t ready.
‘Do you have plans yet for when the wedding will take place?’
Her body froze and her eyes looked down at him wide and almost resembling that of a deer suddenly caught in cross hairs. Wedding. Her wedding. She was certain enough of Gavriil but it was just the thing to cause her to react to this growing panic that was seeping.
“Stop. Please stop.” The stallion under her was still moving as she threw her leg over the side and half loped and half drugged herself over to a large wet oak tree lining the wooded path and leaned herself, half hidden from view, against it and tried to push every shred of the world closing in on her away. The rough bark seemed to ground her and her mind had the chance to just be paused. Whatever, Achilleas was saying or not saying at that very moment wasn’t being heard.
She just wrapped her arms around herself and stared at her feet, despondent of everything except the forest and the sounds around her. Without even a second thought, her fingers were reaching numbing down to the ties of her sandals and unfastening them. First one was tossed there at the foot of the tree and then the other.
Her head came up and she looked at Achilleas. Her voice was as stilted and unnatural for the poised Leventi he was so certain was who she truly was flooded out, “I need a moment. If you need to, loop Altair’s reins on a branch and return, but… I… need a moment.”
And with that she turned and was jogging deeper into the woods and letting the world flash by her and the life waiting for her to pick it back up in Vasiliadon drifting further away from her.
This character is currently a work in progress.
Check out their information page here.
This character is currently a work in progress.
Check out their information page here.
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You know those things that people drift off in thought of wanting to do? Those crazy small things like taking off all of your clothes and running straight into the ocean on an isolated beach. Or the incredible urge to gallop across the grasslands with your arms reaching up to Olympus as if you were trying to pull one of the Gods down from the sky to join you. Or howling at the moon like some wild creature, tossing your head back and just letting go of every deep unspoken emotion that has been bottled up tightly inside your soul. You know those things? Well, at that very moment Evangelina had the most intense desire to swing her legs off the horse right after Achilleas, unlacing her sandals, and running headlong into the wet forest. Letting her toes dig into the rich now wet dirt, to be a sprite flickering from tree to tree and listening to some ancient part of her soul calling to her.
This is where her mind was as Achilleas slipped off the horse behind her and suddenly the warmth of his body was gone. The cool air hit her back with an impact that stunned her out of her thoughts of sprites dancing in the wetlands and the way her toes would feel digging into the dirt. A hushed hiss escaped through her teeth and goosebumps rose up onto her arms. Her body slumped slightly in the saddle and she passed the reins of her horse to him without a word of discord.
‘It’s the left.’
His inarguable tone made her glance at the trail again and suddenly question whether it truly was the left or the right fork at the trail that would bring them back. The lines in her forehead creased and her teeth settled into the flesh of her bottom lip. No. She was pretty sure it was the right side of the trail that took them back to the city and the left that took them on the loop around. The lines of her face puckered up in thought and she was about to argue with him when he directed them down the left side of the path.
So we are going to the left it appears.
She closed her mouth and settled deeply into the saddle trying again to conjure up pictures of sprites and flowing chitons moving through the forest. It wasn’t as easy a second time to draw those thoughts up. It felt as if they were slipping away from her and she was losing something important. It tightened her chest and a slow panic started seeping deeply into her bones.
Breath in.... Breath out. Breath in… Breath… Her mind tried to focus on that simple little task but the idea that she was drawing closer to the city was starting to send her into a panic. She wasn’t ready to go back. She wasn’t ready to don that mask of Leventi perfection that never seemed to fit her quite properly enough. She wasn’t ready.
‘Do you have plans yet for when the wedding will take place?’
Her body froze and her eyes looked down at him wide and almost resembling that of a deer suddenly caught in cross hairs. Wedding. Her wedding. She was certain enough of Gavriil but it was just the thing to cause her to react to this growing panic that was seeping.
“Stop. Please stop.” The stallion under her was still moving as she threw her leg over the side and half loped and half drugged herself over to a large wet oak tree lining the wooded path and leaned herself, half hidden from view, against it and tried to push every shred of the world closing in on her away. The rough bark seemed to ground her and her mind had the chance to just be paused. Whatever, Achilleas was saying or not saying at that very moment wasn’t being heard.
She just wrapped her arms around herself and stared at her feet, despondent of everything except the forest and the sounds around her. Without even a second thought, her fingers were reaching numbing down to the ties of her sandals and unfastening them. First one was tossed there at the foot of the tree and then the other.
Her head came up and she looked at Achilleas. Her voice was as stilted and unnatural for the poised Leventi he was so certain was who she truly was flooded out, “I need a moment. If you need to, loop Altair’s reins on a branch and return, but… I… need a moment.”
And with that she turned and was jogging deeper into the woods and letting the world flash by her and the life waiting for her to pick it back up in Vasiliadon drifting further away from her.
You know those things that people drift off in thought of wanting to do? Those crazy small things like taking off all of your clothes and running straight into the ocean on an isolated beach. Or the incredible urge to gallop across the grasslands with your arms reaching up to Olympus as if you were trying to pull one of the Gods down from the sky to join you. Or howling at the moon like some wild creature, tossing your head back and just letting go of every deep unspoken emotion that has been bottled up tightly inside your soul. You know those things? Well, at that very moment Evangelina had the most intense desire to swing her legs off the horse right after Achilleas, unlacing her sandals, and running headlong into the wet forest. Letting her toes dig into the rich now wet dirt, to be a sprite flickering from tree to tree and listening to some ancient part of her soul calling to her.
This is where her mind was as Achilleas slipped off the horse behind her and suddenly the warmth of his body was gone. The cool air hit her back with an impact that stunned her out of her thoughts of sprites dancing in the wetlands and the way her toes would feel digging into the dirt. A hushed hiss escaped through her teeth and goosebumps rose up onto her arms. Her body slumped slightly in the saddle and she passed the reins of her horse to him without a word of discord.
‘It’s the left.’
His inarguable tone made her glance at the trail again and suddenly question whether it truly was the left or the right fork at the trail that would bring them back. The lines in her forehead creased and her teeth settled into the flesh of her bottom lip. No. She was pretty sure it was the right side of the trail that took them back to the city and the left that took them on the loop around. The lines of her face puckered up in thought and she was about to argue with him when he directed them down the left side of the path.
So we are going to the left it appears.
She closed her mouth and settled deeply into the saddle trying again to conjure up pictures of sprites and flowing chitons moving through the forest. It wasn’t as easy a second time to draw those thoughts up. It felt as if they were slipping away from her and she was losing something important. It tightened her chest and a slow panic started seeping deeply into her bones.
Breath in.... Breath out. Breath in… Breath… Her mind tried to focus on that simple little task but the idea that she was drawing closer to the city was starting to send her into a panic. She wasn’t ready to go back. She wasn’t ready to don that mask of Leventi perfection that never seemed to fit her quite properly enough. She wasn’t ready.
‘Do you have plans yet for when the wedding will take place?’
Her body froze and her eyes looked down at him wide and almost resembling that of a deer suddenly caught in cross hairs. Wedding. Her wedding. She was certain enough of Gavriil but it was just the thing to cause her to react to this growing panic that was seeping.
“Stop. Please stop.” The stallion under her was still moving as she threw her leg over the side and half loped and half drugged herself over to a large wet oak tree lining the wooded path and leaned herself, half hidden from view, against it and tried to push every shred of the world closing in on her away. The rough bark seemed to ground her and her mind had the chance to just be paused. Whatever, Achilleas was saying or not saying at that very moment wasn’t being heard.
She just wrapped her arms around herself and stared at her feet, despondent of everything except the forest and the sounds around her. Without even a second thought, her fingers were reaching numbing down to the ties of her sandals and unfastening them. First one was tossed there at the foot of the tree and then the other.
Her head came up and she looked at Achilleas. Her voice was as stilted and unnatural for the poised Leventi he was so certain was who she truly was flooded out, “I need a moment. If you need to, loop Altair’s reins on a branch and return, but… I… need a moment.”
And with that she turned and was jogging deeper into the woods and letting the world flash by her and the life waiting for her to pick it back up in Vasiliadon drifting further away from her.
The canopy of the trees, even bared of their leaves, still went some way to break the fall the rain, the drips more sporadic though still not terribly pleasant as they rolled down the back ok Achilleas’ neck. Still, at least it was cooling off that slight warmth that he had been able to feel stealing up to his face as he realised quite how unsuitable it was to be riding with Lady Evangeline in the manner he had been. His attempt at conversation - to move them on from that gross error in judgement- was harmless, he thought. They had already touched on the subject earlier, so it was no great ambush.
So he was a little taken aback by Evie’s quiet plea, turning questioningly toward her before his confusion was replaced by concern. Wide-eyed and not looking at all herself, Achilleas at first thought her slump to the side was a faint until Evangelina landed neatly on her feet. His free hand reached out to snag the reins of his horse without thought.
“What’s the matter?”
The King looked on aghast as the little Leventi moved away to half-hide behind one of the trees that bordered the path, replaying his words to try and understand what had provoked such a reaction. “Are you not well, my lady?”
But he received no answer, and now Achilleas was fretting. “Evangelina?” He took the couple of steps towards where the young woman had moved to, still holding on to both horses and at a loss as to what exactly was going on. The dull thwack of a leather sandal falling onto the earth had his attention flicker away from what little he could see of his companion, the man’s brow creasing in consternation as he saw it joined by its pair. When his gaze met hers, it must have asked the question without him moving his lips because she spoke then.
‘I need a moment. If you need to, loop Altair’s reins on a branch and return, but… I… need a moment.’
“A moment for what?” Achilleas had asked, still none the wiser, but Evangelina was already gone, running off into the woods, barefooted and with no further explanation.
For what felt a long moment, he could do nothing but stand there and gape after her, entirely bewildered as to what had just happened. A glance toward his equine companion as if they might be able to shed some light on the matter did not help, and then as if it suddenly registered that Evangelina was disappearing into the woods and he was just standing there watching her do it, the man was spurred into action.
Hastily tying off both horses' reins and hoping they would not decide to try and take chunks out of one another, Achilleas stooped to pick up the discarded sandals - he wasn’t sure why, but it felt important - and then he moved off after the Leventi woman.
“Evangelina….wait.” Her name, spoken so informally, felt clumsy on his lips but he wasn’t sure that relying on station and propriety would serve him well. Not when jogging into the woods after some runaway.
Had he upset her somehow? Or she was unwell and not wanting to shame herself in front of him? Achilleas slowed his pace then because maybe she was deliberately creating some distance, and he would not force his presence upon her if that were the case. “At least speak and let me know you are well. Can I ...go and bring someone to you?” There was an edge of worry to his voice as he spoke to the forest at large, his discomfort apparent as he cast an anxious look back towards the horses and then forwards again to where the Leventi girl had slipped into the trees.
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The canopy of the trees, even bared of their leaves, still went some way to break the fall the rain, the drips more sporadic though still not terribly pleasant as they rolled down the back ok Achilleas’ neck. Still, at least it was cooling off that slight warmth that he had been able to feel stealing up to his face as he realised quite how unsuitable it was to be riding with Lady Evangeline in the manner he had been. His attempt at conversation - to move them on from that gross error in judgement- was harmless, he thought. They had already touched on the subject earlier, so it was no great ambush.
So he was a little taken aback by Evie’s quiet plea, turning questioningly toward her before his confusion was replaced by concern. Wide-eyed and not looking at all herself, Achilleas at first thought her slump to the side was a faint until Evangelina landed neatly on her feet. His free hand reached out to snag the reins of his horse without thought.
“What’s the matter?”
The King looked on aghast as the little Leventi moved away to half-hide behind one of the trees that bordered the path, replaying his words to try and understand what had provoked such a reaction. “Are you not well, my lady?”
But he received no answer, and now Achilleas was fretting. “Evangelina?” He took the couple of steps towards where the young woman had moved to, still holding on to both horses and at a loss as to what exactly was going on. The dull thwack of a leather sandal falling onto the earth had his attention flicker away from what little he could see of his companion, the man’s brow creasing in consternation as he saw it joined by its pair. When his gaze met hers, it must have asked the question without him moving his lips because she spoke then.
‘I need a moment. If you need to, loop Altair’s reins on a branch and return, but… I… need a moment.’
“A moment for what?” Achilleas had asked, still none the wiser, but Evangelina was already gone, running off into the woods, barefooted and with no further explanation.
For what felt a long moment, he could do nothing but stand there and gape after her, entirely bewildered as to what had just happened. A glance toward his equine companion as if they might be able to shed some light on the matter did not help, and then as if it suddenly registered that Evangelina was disappearing into the woods and he was just standing there watching her do it, the man was spurred into action.
Hastily tying off both horses' reins and hoping they would not decide to try and take chunks out of one another, Achilleas stooped to pick up the discarded sandals - he wasn’t sure why, but it felt important - and then he moved off after the Leventi woman.
“Evangelina….wait.” Her name, spoken so informally, felt clumsy on his lips but he wasn’t sure that relying on station and propriety would serve him well. Not when jogging into the woods after some runaway.
Had he upset her somehow? Or she was unwell and not wanting to shame herself in front of him? Achilleas slowed his pace then because maybe she was deliberately creating some distance, and he would not force his presence upon her if that were the case. “At least speak and let me know you are well. Can I ...go and bring someone to you?” There was an edge of worry to his voice as he spoke to the forest at large, his discomfort apparent as he cast an anxious look back towards the horses and then forwards again to where the Leventi girl had slipped into the trees.
The canopy of the trees, even bared of their leaves, still went some way to break the fall the rain, the drips more sporadic though still not terribly pleasant as they rolled down the back ok Achilleas’ neck. Still, at least it was cooling off that slight warmth that he had been able to feel stealing up to his face as he realised quite how unsuitable it was to be riding with Lady Evangeline in the manner he had been. His attempt at conversation - to move them on from that gross error in judgement- was harmless, he thought. They had already touched on the subject earlier, so it was no great ambush.
So he was a little taken aback by Evie’s quiet plea, turning questioningly toward her before his confusion was replaced by concern. Wide-eyed and not looking at all herself, Achilleas at first thought her slump to the side was a faint until Evangelina landed neatly on her feet. His free hand reached out to snag the reins of his horse without thought.
“What’s the matter?”
The King looked on aghast as the little Leventi moved away to half-hide behind one of the trees that bordered the path, replaying his words to try and understand what had provoked such a reaction. “Are you not well, my lady?”
But he received no answer, and now Achilleas was fretting. “Evangelina?” He took the couple of steps towards where the young woman had moved to, still holding on to both horses and at a loss as to what exactly was going on. The dull thwack of a leather sandal falling onto the earth had his attention flicker away from what little he could see of his companion, the man’s brow creasing in consternation as he saw it joined by its pair. When his gaze met hers, it must have asked the question without him moving his lips because she spoke then.
‘I need a moment. If you need to, loop Altair’s reins on a branch and return, but… I… need a moment.’
“A moment for what?” Achilleas had asked, still none the wiser, but Evangelina was already gone, running off into the woods, barefooted and with no further explanation.
For what felt a long moment, he could do nothing but stand there and gape after her, entirely bewildered as to what had just happened. A glance toward his equine companion as if they might be able to shed some light on the matter did not help, and then as if it suddenly registered that Evangelina was disappearing into the woods and he was just standing there watching her do it, the man was spurred into action.
Hastily tying off both horses' reins and hoping they would not decide to try and take chunks out of one another, Achilleas stooped to pick up the discarded sandals - he wasn’t sure why, but it felt important - and then he moved off after the Leventi woman.
“Evangelina….wait.” Her name, spoken so informally, felt clumsy on his lips but he wasn’t sure that relying on station and propriety would serve him well. Not when jogging into the woods after some runaway.
Had he upset her somehow? Or she was unwell and not wanting to shame herself in front of him? Achilleas slowed his pace then because maybe she was deliberately creating some distance, and he would not force his presence upon her if that were the case. “At least speak and let me know you are well. Can I ...go and bring someone to you?” There was an edge of worry to his voice as he spoke to the forest at large, his discomfort apparent as he cast an anxious look back towards the horses and then forwards again to where the Leventi girl had slipped into the trees.
Barefoot. It was such a natural feeling without any of the refinement that was expected of her. Each step she took her toes curled into the ground, sometimes it was slick, wet leaves while other times it was just the plain dark moist soil so fertile and untouched as she wanted to be in that very moment.
‘Evangelina….wait.’
The King’s voice registered in her mind along with the other noises of the forest. But unlike the other noises she thought she heard the footfalls of him behind her. She didn’t immediately answer him because she was having her moment. The fact that she’d probably hurt her horse. Was absolutely terrified with her decision to marry Gavriil. The pressure her family had laid at her feet to be something far greater than she was. The death and loss and changes she’d faced over the past year along with the ups and high points and things she’d never expected to find in herself. Every single overwhelming thing that had been trapped inside of her was being pushed out. Her body might have gotten mud on it and her chiton might have gotten snagged on some branch trying to pull her down but her soul was clean and for the moment she felt… relief.
Her fleeing quickly slowed as the rain continued, gentler than before when she’d been out in the open. Running turned to jogging, her lungs were on fire with the humid air and her chiton soaked to her skin tangled among her legs but it didn’t matter because her movements weren’t meant to be graceful but rather free.
‘At least speak and let me know you are well. Can I ...go and bring someone to you?’
The footfalls behind her had stopped and it had been a long moment since he’d spoken but the concern that laced Achilleas voice this time brought her to a stop. Looking over her shoulder, she blinked into the forest and let out a deep, tension filled breath.
The small, spritely Leventi took a hesitant step around a tree and across the spacious distance she’d covered, her soft gaze locked onto him. She didn’t feel like that doe caught in the cross hairs of the hunter’s arrow anymore but rather like the doe watching the lost boy in the woods. Achilleas was hardly a boy and hardly lost in the woods but she wondered if right then that faint vulnerability and worry she saw, even at this distance, wasn’t something he was holding onto as tightly as she’d been holding onto hers.
“I told you I just needed a moment,” It wasn’t yelled because she didn’t need to, her voice was like the warmth of a blanket. Leaning her small frame against the side of the tree, she watched him for another moment, her arms crossed over her chest. “Do you ever feel like the world is closing in on you?” She didn’t know if he’d answer her honestly or not, but at this point she didn’t think it really mattered. He knew the answer and she knew his answer and her question to him should have told him she knew the answer.
“You came this far, you might as well bring me my shoes…” Her lips parted into a slow, puckish sort of grin as she tossed down her gauntlet to him. “Unless of course, you you'd just like to leave them there…” In an easy movement, she half turned and disappeared into the trees again with a flash of her vibrant chiton still clinging to her.
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Barefoot. It was such a natural feeling without any of the refinement that was expected of her. Each step she took her toes curled into the ground, sometimes it was slick, wet leaves while other times it was just the plain dark moist soil so fertile and untouched as she wanted to be in that very moment.
‘Evangelina….wait.’
The King’s voice registered in her mind along with the other noises of the forest. But unlike the other noises she thought she heard the footfalls of him behind her. She didn’t immediately answer him because she was having her moment. The fact that she’d probably hurt her horse. Was absolutely terrified with her decision to marry Gavriil. The pressure her family had laid at her feet to be something far greater than she was. The death and loss and changes she’d faced over the past year along with the ups and high points and things she’d never expected to find in herself. Every single overwhelming thing that had been trapped inside of her was being pushed out. Her body might have gotten mud on it and her chiton might have gotten snagged on some branch trying to pull her down but her soul was clean and for the moment she felt… relief.
Her fleeing quickly slowed as the rain continued, gentler than before when she’d been out in the open. Running turned to jogging, her lungs were on fire with the humid air and her chiton soaked to her skin tangled among her legs but it didn’t matter because her movements weren’t meant to be graceful but rather free.
‘At least speak and let me know you are well. Can I ...go and bring someone to you?’
The footfalls behind her had stopped and it had been a long moment since he’d spoken but the concern that laced Achilleas voice this time brought her to a stop. Looking over her shoulder, she blinked into the forest and let out a deep, tension filled breath.
The small, spritely Leventi took a hesitant step around a tree and across the spacious distance she’d covered, her soft gaze locked onto him. She didn’t feel like that doe caught in the cross hairs of the hunter’s arrow anymore but rather like the doe watching the lost boy in the woods. Achilleas was hardly a boy and hardly lost in the woods but she wondered if right then that faint vulnerability and worry she saw, even at this distance, wasn’t something he was holding onto as tightly as she’d been holding onto hers.
“I told you I just needed a moment,” It wasn’t yelled because she didn’t need to, her voice was like the warmth of a blanket. Leaning her small frame against the side of the tree, she watched him for another moment, her arms crossed over her chest. “Do you ever feel like the world is closing in on you?” She didn’t know if he’d answer her honestly or not, but at this point she didn’t think it really mattered. He knew the answer and she knew his answer and her question to him should have told him she knew the answer.
“You came this far, you might as well bring me my shoes…” Her lips parted into a slow, puckish sort of grin as she tossed down her gauntlet to him. “Unless of course, you you'd just like to leave them there…” In an easy movement, she half turned and disappeared into the trees again with a flash of her vibrant chiton still clinging to her.
Barefoot. It was such a natural feeling without any of the refinement that was expected of her. Each step she took her toes curled into the ground, sometimes it was slick, wet leaves while other times it was just the plain dark moist soil so fertile and untouched as she wanted to be in that very moment.
‘Evangelina….wait.’
The King’s voice registered in her mind along with the other noises of the forest. But unlike the other noises she thought she heard the footfalls of him behind her. She didn’t immediately answer him because she was having her moment. The fact that she’d probably hurt her horse. Was absolutely terrified with her decision to marry Gavriil. The pressure her family had laid at her feet to be something far greater than she was. The death and loss and changes she’d faced over the past year along with the ups and high points and things she’d never expected to find in herself. Every single overwhelming thing that had been trapped inside of her was being pushed out. Her body might have gotten mud on it and her chiton might have gotten snagged on some branch trying to pull her down but her soul was clean and for the moment she felt… relief.
Her fleeing quickly slowed as the rain continued, gentler than before when she’d been out in the open. Running turned to jogging, her lungs were on fire with the humid air and her chiton soaked to her skin tangled among her legs but it didn’t matter because her movements weren’t meant to be graceful but rather free.
‘At least speak and let me know you are well. Can I ...go and bring someone to you?’
The footfalls behind her had stopped and it had been a long moment since he’d spoken but the concern that laced Achilleas voice this time brought her to a stop. Looking over her shoulder, she blinked into the forest and let out a deep, tension filled breath.
The small, spritely Leventi took a hesitant step around a tree and across the spacious distance she’d covered, her soft gaze locked onto him. She didn’t feel like that doe caught in the cross hairs of the hunter’s arrow anymore but rather like the doe watching the lost boy in the woods. Achilleas was hardly a boy and hardly lost in the woods but she wondered if right then that faint vulnerability and worry she saw, even at this distance, wasn’t something he was holding onto as tightly as she’d been holding onto hers.
“I told you I just needed a moment,” It wasn’t yelled because she didn’t need to, her voice was like the warmth of a blanket. Leaning her small frame against the side of the tree, she watched him for another moment, her arms crossed over her chest. “Do you ever feel like the world is closing in on you?” She didn’t know if he’d answer her honestly or not, but at this point she didn’t think it really mattered. He knew the answer and she knew his answer and her question to him should have told him she knew the answer.
“You came this far, you might as well bring me my shoes…” Her lips parted into a slow, puckish sort of grin as she tossed down her gauntlet to him. “Unless of course, you you'd just like to leave them there…” In an easy movement, she half turned and disappeared into the trees again with a flash of her vibrant chiton still clinging to her.
There was no response for a stretching moment, and Achilleas felt a jolt of worry. She could not have gone far, but if she had been taken unwell? He was suitably relieved then when movement at the corner of his vision saw Evangelina step out of the trees. There was still some distance between them, but the Mikaelidas man was looking her over for some clue as to what on earth was going on, that same confusion back again. He couldn’t see anything amiss, but her behaviour had been odd in the extreme, and he was still on edge.
‘I told you I just needed a moment.’
He drew a breath at that, because as if that was an adequate explanation for throwing herself from his horse and charging into the woods. “ You didn’t say why” he retorted, gazing back at her with a frown knitting his brow. She kept looking at him, folding her arms across her chest and leaning casually against the nearest tree as if all this were normal and Achilleas swallowed because this wasn’t in his realm of expertise. If nothing else the past weeks had demonstrated quite clearly that he wasn’t good at talking women down from...emotional upset. He was trying to settle on something to say to encourage her to come back when Evangelina spoke again.
‘Do you ever feel like the world is closing in on you?’
Yes, he wanted to say. He had felt it keenly these past days, and it had driven him from the palati this very day. It had made him stupid the days before like he was losing his composure and unable to stop it. And yet despite his feeling it, there was not the option of ‘taking a moment’ as Krysto had so succinctly pointed out to him. He was the King; he could not afford such things.
So despite feeling Evangelina’s gaze still upon him, he did not say what first came to mind. “I’m not sure what you mean” Was how he answered instead. It wasn’t a lie, exactly. But it wasn’t any kind of admission either. This wasn’t about him; he wasn’t the one who’d gone haring off into the forest like some wild creature and even now stood barefoot on the wet earth and mud.
Achilleas had almost forgotten he was holding her sandals, glancing down to them and up again, now thrown off by the smile Evangelina was wearing. How was she smiling? Wasn’t she just...upset?. Pressing his lips together in frustration, he walked after her anyway, long strides eating up the distance in less time than she might have thought. And when he reached her side, he offered out the shoes with little fanfare, darting a glance toward her muddied feet and then back to her face, trying to make sense of her frame of mind now.
“What happened? Why did you...what is with the bare feet?” His uncertainty was making him agitated, his lack of control over the situation unnerving. This whole scenario seemed almost comical now, the both of them soaked right through, her with dirty feet and a chiton that had quite literally been dragged through a forest. Only Achilleas struggled to find the funny past his bewilderment, and he didn't know how to manage the scenario. He didn't know how to manage Evangelina of Leventi.
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There was no response for a stretching moment, and Achilleas felt a jolt of worry. She could not have gone far, but if she had been taken unwell? He was suitably relieved then when movement at the corner of his vision saw Evangelina step out of the trees. There was still some distance between them, but the Mikaelidas man was looking her over for some clue as to what on earth was going on, that same confusion back again. He couldn’t see anything amiss, but her behaviour had been odd in the extreme, and he was still on edge.
‘I told you I just needed a moment.’
He drew a breath at that, because as if that was an adequate explanation for throwing herself from his horse and charging into the woods. “ You didn’t say why” he retorted, gazing back at her with a frown knitting his brow. She kept looking at him, folding her arms across her chest and leaning casually against the nearest tree as if all this were normal and Achilleas swallowed because this wasn’t in his realm of expertise. If nothing else the past weeks had demonstrated quite clearly that he wasn’t good at talking women down from...emotional upset. He was trying to settle on something to say to encourage her to come back when Evangelina spoke again.
‘Do you ever feel like the world is closing in on you?’
Yes, he wanted to say. He had felt it keenly these past days, and it had driven him from the palati this very day. It had made him stupid the days before like he was losing his composure and unable to stop it. And yet despite his feeling it, there was not the option of ‘taking a moment’ as Krysto had so succinctly pointed out to him. He was the King; he could not afford such things.
So despite feeling Evangelina’s gaze still upon him, he did not say what first came to mind. “I’m not sure what you mean” Was how he answered instead. It wasn’t a lie, exactly. But it wasn’t any kind of admission either. This wasn’t about him; he wasn’t the one who’d gone haring off into the forest like some wild creature and even now stood barefoot on the wet earth and mud.
Achilleas had almost forgotten he was holding her sandals, glancing down to them and up again, now thrown off by the smile Evangelina was wearing. How was she smiling? Wasn’t she just...upset?. Pressing his lips together in frustration, he walked after her anyway, long strides eating up the distance in less time than she might have thought. And when he reached her side, he offered out the shoes with little fanfare, darting a glance toward her muddied feet and then back to her face, trying to make sense of her frame of mind now.
“What happened? Why did you...what is with the bare feet?” His uncertainty was making him agitated, his lack of control over the situation unnerving. This whole scenario seemed almost comical now, the both of them soaked right through, her with dirty feet and a chiton that had quite literally been dragged through a forest. Only Achilleas struggled to find the funny past his bewilderment, and he didn't know how to manage the scenario. He didn't know how to manage Evangelina of Leventi.
There was no response for a stretching moment, and Achilleas felt a jolt of worry. She could not have gone far, but if she had been taken unwell? He was suitably relieved then when movement at the corner of his vision saw Evangelina step out of the trees. There was still some distance between them, but the Mikaelidas man was looking her over for some clue as to what on earth was going on, that same confusion back again. He couldn’t see anything amiss, but her behaviour had been odd in the extreme, and he was still on edge.
‘I told you I just needed a moment.’
He drew a breath at that, because as if that was an adequate explanation for throwing herself from his horse and charging into the woods. “ You didn’t say why” he retorted, gazing back at her with a frown knitting his brow. She kept looking at him, folding her arms across her chest and leaning casually against the nearest tree as if all this were normal and Achilleas swallowed because this wasn’t in his realm of expertise. If nothing else the past weeks had demonstrated quite clearly that he wasn’t good at talking women down from...emotional upset. He was trying to settle on something to say to encourage her to come back when Evangelina spoke again.
‘Do you ever feel like the world is closing in on you?’
Yes, he wanted to say. He had felt it keenly these past days, and it had driven him from the palati this very day. It had made him stupid the days before like he was losing his composure and unable to stop it. And yet despite his feeling it, there was not the option of ‘taking a moment’ as Krysto had so succinctly pointed out to him. He was the King; he could not afford such things.
So despite feeling Evangelina’s gaze still upon him, he did not say what first came to mind. “I’m not sure what you mean” Was how he answered instead. It wasn’t a lie, exactly. But it wasn’t any kind of admission either. This wasn’t about him; he wasn’t the one who’d gone haring off into the forest like some wild creature and even now stood barefoot on the wet earth and mud.
Achilleas had almost forgotten he was holding her sandals, glancing down to them and up again, now thrown off by the smile Evangelina was wearing. How was she smiling? Wasn’t she just...upset?. Pressing his lips together in frustration, he walked after her anyway, long strides eating up the distance in less time than she might have thought. And when he reached her side, he offered out the shoes with little fanfare, darting a glance toward her muddied feet and then back to her face, trying to make sense of her frame of mind now.
“What happened? Why did you...what is with the bare feet?” His uncertainty was making him agitated, his lack of control over the situation unnerving. This whole scenario seemed almost comical now, the both of them soaked right through, her with dirty feet and a chiton that had quite literally been dragged through a forest. Only Achilleas struggled to find the funny past his bewilderment, and he didn't know how to manage the scenario. He didn't know how to manage Evangelina of Leventi.
Evangelina wasn’t in the habit of explaining why she did things. Possibly, because she was a Leventi but more probably because no one ever had bothered to ask her why she did the things she did. It wasn’t that they didn’t care but more that there were so many Leventi girls and all of them had their own sort of silly notions. Staring back at him as poked at her behavior with such a question as to ‘why’, Evie wasn’t sure whether to peg him as sincerely wanting to know or if this was some sort of control factor. Did he simply want to know why she’d needed her moment because of concern or was it so that he could pass his own judgement as to if she really needed that moment or not?
So Evie didn’t answer, at least, just yet.
In place of her reply, she’d asked him a question. Do you ever feel like the world is closing in on you?
His pause was just long enough that she’d had her answer, even though she’d already suspected as much. When he did speak finally, it was only to deny what she’d already suspected. She squeezed her eyes shut and the thin lines of her mouth pulled together in a downcast smile. She wouldn’t push him to be open with her, but somehow it stung rather deeper than she’d expected.
The little Leventi didn’t do things half way. She loved and hated with hardly no in between and either she trusted or distrusted the same way. She decided who would be her friends and who would be her enemies with a flick of a glance. And having been so open with Achilleas she felt like he was once again slamming a door on her. With a small sigh and a smile, she beckoned him closer as she turned and leaned her back against the gnarled, wet bark of the oak tree she’d propped herself up against.
Her shoes were presented in front of her and she reached out a bit stalely and took them from him. Sliding her back down the tree before she plopped down onto the wet earth. She was already soaked and dirty, what was a bit more mud?
‘What happened? Why did you...what is with the bare feet?’
Leaning her head back against the tree she looked up at him wryly, “I’m afraid that’s a secret you’ll only learn by taking your shoes off. If I told you, I’d probably have to kill you and I mean…. I’d rather not do that.” She made a play at some dark humor, as she blinked her eyes up at him. She was quiet for long moment and let out another deep breath.
“I needed an escape from reality.” She blinked, her sweeping eyelashes brushing against her cheek. “Things just keep building and building and…” Evangelina stopped herself realizing her voice was starting to shake and get a little louder than she’d intended. She dropped her chin and her fingers started to fidget with the straps of one of her sandals. “I feel like I’m holding on so tightly to everything I love in my life that things are starting to fall through the cracks or I’m breaking them.” She murmured a little quieter again. “Which only makes me try and hold on tighter and I’m…” She caught herself and glanced up at him, dark muddy brown eyes seemed to search his face for whatever the right words were for him to understand why she’d flung herself off a moving horse and ran off into the woods.
“I’m failing.” There it was. The two words that created the pressure inside of her. The two words that single handedly brought her to her knees. Two words that now that they were out of her couldn’t be put back inside. And possibly to the one person she wasn’t entirely sure had ever failed at anything in his life. She couldn’t keep looking at him, instead her face dropped down until her chin almost touched her neck.
“My world is closing in around me tightly and I’m failing…” Her voice shook again. “And it won’t be long until I run out of time and can’t fail any longer because there is only so much I can fail at before it starts to break the things that I care about the most.” She pressed her lips together, she was tired of feigning happiness. Tired of wearing a shoe that was too small for her. She was never going to fit in those neat little boxes that her cousins had and it was going to come back and bite her into the rear.
Quite frankly, her own positive step forward in anything was that Gavriil felt sorry enough for her that he’d stepped up and agreed to marry her. When she’d asked him why he’d wanted to do that… his answer had been because he wanted a companion, someone he could help. It hadn’t been because he liked her or simply because she brightened some small part of his day. It hadn’t even been because her body drove him wild. Oh, she knew for a fact that he found her attractive… all of her parts came together quite nicely when she stopped thinking about things too heavily and he did need her. He needed a companion but what would happen when he’d helped her to the point of her not needing his help.
A tremble washed over her and she hazarded a glance up at him, “I just needed a moment. Does that make sense now?”
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Evangelina wasn’t in the habit of explaining why she did things. Possibly, because she was a Leventi but more probably because no one ever had bothered to ask her why she did the things she did. It wasn’t that they didn’t care but more that there were so many Leventi girls and all of them had their own sort of silly notions. Staring back at him as poked at her behavior with such a question as to ‘why’, Evie wasn’t sure whether to peg him as sincerely wanting to know or if this was some sort of control factor. Did he simply want to know why she’d needed her moment because of concern or was it so that he could pass his own judgement as to if she really needed that moment or not?
So Evie didn’t answer, at least, just yet.
In place of her reply, she’d asked him a question. Do you ever feel like the world is closing in on you?
His pause was just long enough that she’d had her answer, even though she’d already suspected as much. When he did speak finally, it was only to deny what she’d already suspected. She squeezed her eyes shut and the thin lines of her mouth pulled together in a downcast smile. She wouldn’t push him to be open with her, but somehow it stung rather deeper than she’d expected.
The little Leventi didn’t do things half way. She loved and hated with hardly no in between and either she trusted or distrusted the same way. She decided who would be her friends and who would be her enemies with a flick of a glance. And having been so open with Achilleas she felt like he was once again slamming a door on her. With a small sigh and a smile, she beckoned him closer as she turned and leaned her back against the gnarled, wet bark of the oak tree she’d propped herself up against.
Her shoes were presented in front of her and she reached out a bit stalely and took them from him. Sliding her back down the tree before she plopped down onto the wet earth. She was already soaked and dirty, what was a bit more mud?
‘What happened? Why did you...what is with the bare feet?’
Leaning her head back against the tree she looked up at him wryly, “I’m afraid that’s a secret you’ll only learn by taking your shoes off. If I told you, I’d probably have to kill you and I mean…. I’d rather not do that.” She made a play at some dark humor, as she blinked her eyes up at him. She was quiet for long moment and let out another deep breath.
“I needed an escape from reality.” She blinked, her sweeping eyelashes brushing against her cheek. “Things just keep building and building and…” Evangelina stopped herself realizing her voice was starting to shake and get a little louder than she’d intended. She dropped her chin and her fingers started to fidget with the straps of one of her sandals. “I feel like I’m holding on so tightly to everything I love in my life that things are starting to fall through the cracks or I’m breaking them.” She murmured a little quieter again. “Which only makes me try and hold on tighter and I’m…” She caught herself and glanced up at him, dark muddy brown eyes seemed to search his face for whatever the right words were for him to understand why she’d flung herself off a moving horse and ran off into the woods.
“I’m failing.” There it was. The two words that created the pressure inside of her. The two words that single handedly brought her to her knees. Two words that now that they were out of her couldn’t be put back inside. And possibly to the one person she wasn’t entirely sure had ever failed at anything in his life. She couldn’t keep looking at him, instead her face dropped down until her chin almost touched her neck.
“My world is closing in around me tightly and I’m failing…” Her voice shook again. “And it won’t be long until I run out of time and can’t fail any longer because there is only so much I can fail at before it starts to break the things that I care about the most.” She pressed her lips together, she was tired of feigning happiness. Tired of wearing a shoe that was too small for her. She was never going to fit in those neat little boxes that her cousins had and it was going to come back and bite her into the rear.
Quite frankly, her own positive step forward in anything was that Gavriil felt sorry enough for her that he’d stepped up and agreed to marry her. When she’d asked him why he’d wanted to do that… his answer had been because he wanted a companion, someone he could help. It hadn’t been because he liked her or simply because she brightened some small part of his day. It hadn’t even been because her body drove him wild. Oh, she knew for a fact that he found her attractive… all of her parts came together quite nicely when she stopped thinking about things too heavily and he did need her. He needed a companion but what would happen when he’d helped her to the point of her not needing his help.
A tremble washed over her and she hazarded a glance up at him, “I just needed a moment. Does that make sense now?”
Evangelina wasn’t in the habit of explaining why she did things. Possibly, because she was a Leventi but more probably because no one ever had bothered to ask her why she did the things she did. It wasn’t that they didn’t care but more that there were so many Leventi girls and all of them had their own sort of silly notions. Staring back at him as poked at her behavior with such a question as to ‘why’, Evie wasn’t sure whether to peg him as sincerely wanting to know or if this was some sort of control factor. Did he simply want to know why she’d needed her moment because of concern or was it so that he could pass his own judgement as to if she really needed that moment or not?
So Evie didn’t answer, at least, just yet.
In place of her reply, she’d asked him a question. Do you ever feel like the world is closing in on you?
His pause was just long enough that she’d had her answer, even though she’d already suspected as much. When he did speak finally, it was only to deny what she’d already suspected. She squeezed her eyes shut and the thin lines of her mouth pulled together in a downcast smile. She wouldn’t push him to be open with her, but somehow it stung rather deeper than she’d expected.
The little Leventi didn’t do things half way. She loved and hated with hardly no in between and either she trusted or distrusted the same way. She decided who would be her friends and who would be her enemies with a flick of a glance. And having been so open with Achilleas she felt like he was once again slamming a door on her. With a small sigh and a smile, she beckoned him closer as she turned and leaned her back against the gnarled, wet bark of the oak tree she’d propped herself up against.
Her shoes were presented in front of her and she reached out a bit stalely and took them from him. Sliding her back down the tree before she plopped down onto the wet earth. She was already soaked and dirty, what was a bit more mud?
‘What happened? Why did you...what is with the bare feet?’
Leaning her head back against the tree she looked up at him wryly, “I’m afraid that’s a secret you’ll only learn by taking your shoes off. If I told you, I’d probably have to kill you and I mean…. I’d rather not do that.” She made a play at some dark humor, as she blinked her eyes up at him. She was quiet for long moment and let out another deep breath.
“I needed an escape from reality.” She blinked, her sweeping eyelashes brushing against her cheek. “Things just keep building and building and…” Evangelina stopped herself realizing her voice was starting to shake and get a little louder than she’d intended. She dropped her chin and her fingers started to fidget with the straps of one of her sandals. “I feel like I’m holding on so tightly to everything I love in my life that things are starting to fall through the cracks or I’m breaking them.” She murmured a little quieter again. “Which only makes me try and hold on tighter and I’m…” She caught herself and glanced up at him, dark muddy brown eyes seemed to search his face for whatever the right words were for him to understand why she’d flung herself off a moving horse and ran off into the woods.
“I’m failing.” There it was. The two words that created the pressure inside of her. The two words that single handedly brought her to her knees. Two words that now that they were out of her couldn’t be put back inside. And possibly to the one person she wasn’t entirely sure had ever failed at anything in his life. She couldn’t keep looking at him, instead her face dropped down until her chin almost touched her neck.
“My world is closing in around me tightly and I’m failing…” Her voice shook again. “And it won’t be long until I run out of time and can’t fail any longer because there is only so much I can fail at before it starts to break the things that I care about the most.” She pressed her lips together, she was tired of feigning happiness. Tired of wearing a shoe that was too small for her. She was never going to fit in those neat little boxes that her cousins had and it was going to come back and bite her into the rear.
Quite frankly, her own positive step forward in anything was that Gavriil felt sorry enough for her that he’d stepped up and agreed to marry her. When she’d asked him why he’d wanted to do that… his answer had been because he wanted a companion, someone he could help. It hadn’t been because he liked her or simply because she brightened some small part of his day. It hadn’t even been because her body drove him wild. Oh, she knew for a fact that he found her attractive… all of her parts came together quite nicely when she stopped thinking about things too heavily and he did need her. He needed a companion but what would happen when he’d helped her to the point of her not needing his help.
A tremble washed over her and she hazarded a glance up at him, “I just needed a moment. Does that make sense now?”
He asked why because he didn’t understand the pattern of behaviour, because he wanted to lay out all the pieces and solve the puzzle. Not knowing was an irritation, a failure on his part to have anticipated something. If he knew what had started this whole commotion, then he would know to avoid it in future, and everything would be tidier. It made perfect sense.
What he hadn’t accounted for in the seemingly logical approach to addressing the scenario was the fact that Evangelina was telling him why, and now that she was he realised he was woefully ill-equipped to be able to console her.
He felt like...she was speaking things that it wasn’t his place to hear, and whilst part of him wanted to bundle up the words and shove them back at her like they had never been uttered, there was another part of him that was listening, recognising the trust she put in him in talking so, and he wanted to hold on to that with both hands. He wasn’t close to many people, he didn’t leave an awful lot of time for friendships. Those who he counted in his inner circle were mostly by blood or those that had known him for years. This fledgeling friendship with Lady Evangelina, he didn’t want to spoil it, and as she poured out her heart to him, he was afraid that he might.
He should say something in response to her admissions, offer some kind of comfort, but given his recent interactions with Theodora, he wasn’t confident that what came out of his mouth would help rather than hinder. A couple of times he looked as if he might be about to speak and then didn’t, a hand coming to push that stubborn curl off his face more than once and he looked down at Evangelina with a troubled expression upon his features.
Perhaps it would have been easier if what she said didn’t seem to unpick his own worries so ruthlessly. If it was something he could remain detached and aloof about as he pretended to be, but she spoke of things that had become his very real fears in moments the past weeks. Why she was brave enough to lay it all out at his feet like this and he could not, he didn’t know.
“You’re not failing” he said, not meeting her gaze and reaching out to worry the stem of a nearby plant, so he had something to do with his hands. He’d pulled off a leaf and was tracing the serrated edge of it, wearing his discomfort so clearly now. He wanted to say more, to reassure her but he didn’t know how and so he fell silent again, only looking back at her when she asked if, finally, he understood why she had needed her moment.
And looking at her face as she tipped her gaze up toward him, he knew he had to offer something in exchange for her candour. And the secret was right there on the tip of his tongue and had been for days, his own failure, and perhaps that was why it spilt out at that moment, in that less than ideal circumstance.
“I kissed someone. Someone else I mean. Not Theodora”
There. He’d done it. Tit for tat. Her vulnerability for his own, fair is fair. Blowing out a gust of air like he’d surprised himself, Achilleas spun on his heel and walked a few paces away. He was already regretting it. He cursed under his breath, and half turned back toward her “What I mean is that I understand. Maybe. What you feel.”
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He asked why because he didn’t understand the pattern of behaviour, because he wanted to lay out all the pieces and solve the puzzle. Not knowing was an irritation, a failure on his part to have anticipated something. If he knew what had started this whole commotion, then he would know to avoid it in future, and everything would be tidier. It made perfect sense.
What he hadn’t accounted for in the seemingly logical approach to addressing the scenario was the fact that Evangelina was telling him why, and now that she was he realised he was woefully ill-equipped to be able to console her.
He felt like...she was speaking things that it wasn’t his place to hear, and whilst part of him wanted to bundle up the words and shove them back at her like they had never been uttered, there was another part of him that was listening, recognising the trust she put in him in talking so, and he wanted to hold on to that with both hands. He wasn’t close to many people, he didn’t leave an awful lot of time for friendships. Those who he counted in his inner circle were mostly by blood or those that had known him for years. This fledgeling friendship with Lady Evangelina, he didn’t want to spoil it, and as she poured out her heart to him, he was afraid that he might.
He should say something in response to her admissions, offer some kind of comfort, but given his recent interactions with Theodora, he wasn’t confident that what came out of his mouth would help rather than hinder. A couple of times he looked as if he might be about to speak and then didn’t, a hand coming to push that stubborn curl off his face more than once and he looked down at Evangelina with a troubled expression upon his features.
Perhaps it would have been easier if what she said didn’t seem to unpick his own worries so ruthlessly. If it was something he could remain detached and aloof about as he pretended to be, but she spoke of things that had become his very real fears in moments the past weeks. Why she was brave enough to lay it all out at his feet like this and he could not, he didn’t know.
“You’re not failing” he said, not meeting her gaze and reaching out to worry the stem of a nearby plant, so he had something to do with his hands. He’d pulled off a leaf and was tracing the serrated edge of it, wearing his discomfort so clearly now. He wanted to say more, to reassure her but he didn’t know how and so he fell silent again, only looking back at her when she asked if, finally, he understood why she had needed her moment.
And looking at her face as she tipped her gaze up toward him, he knew he had to offer something in exchange for her candour. And the secret was right there on the tip of his tongue and had been for days, his own failure, and perhaps that was why it spilt out at that moment, in that less than ideal circumstance.
“I kissed someone. Someone else I mean. Not Theodora”
There. He’d done it. Tit for tat. Her vulnerability for his own, fair is fair. Blowing out a gust of air like he’d surprised himself, Achilleas spun on his heel and walked a few paces away. He was already regretting it. He cursed under his breath, and half turned back toward her “What I mean is that I understand. Maybe. What you feel.”
He asked why because he didn’t understand the pattern of behaviour, because he wanted to lay out all the pieces and solve the puzzle. Not knowing was an irritation, a failure on his part to have anticipated something. If he knew what had started this whole commotion, then he would know to avoid it in future, and everything would be tidier. It made perfect sense.
What he hadn’t accounted for in the seemingly logical approach to addressing the scenario was the fact that Evangelina was telling him why, and now that she was he realised he was woefully ill-equipped to be able to console her.
He felt like...she was speaking things that it wasn’t his place to hear, and whilst part of him wanted to bundle up the words and shove them back at her like they had never been uttered, there was another part of him that was listening, recognising the trust she put in him in talking so, and he wanted to hold on to that with both hands. He wasn’t close to many people, he didn’t leave an awful lot of time for friendships. Those who he counted in his inner circle were mostly by blood or those that had known him for years. This fledgeling friendship with Lady Evangelina, he didn’t want to spoil it, and as she poured out her heart to him, he was afraid that he might.
He should say something in response to her admissions, offer some kind of comfort, but given his recent interactions with Theodora, he wasn’t confident that what came out of his mouth would help rather than hinder. A couple of times he looked as if he might be about to speak and then didn’t, a hand coming to push that stubborn curl off his face more than once and he looked down at Evangelina with a troubled expression upon his features.
Perhaps it would have been easier if what she said didn’t seem to unpick his own worries so ruthlessly. If it was something he could remain detached and aloof about as he pretended to be, but she spoke of things that had become his very real fears in moments the past weeks. Why she was brave enough to lay it all out at his feet like this and he could not, he didn’t know.
“You’re not failing” he said, not meeting her gaze and reaching out to worry the stem of a nearby plant, so he had something to do with his hands. He’d pulled off a leaf and was tracing the serrated edge of it, wearing his discomfort so clearly now. He wanted to say more, to reassure her but he didn’t know how and so he fell silent again, only looking back at her when she asked if, finally, he understood why she had needed her moment.
And looking at her face as she tipped her gaze up toward him, he knew he had to offer something in exchange for her candour. And the secret was right there on the tip of his tongue and had been for days, his own failure, and perhaps that was why it spilt out at that moment, in that less than ideal circumstance.
“I kissed someone. Someone else I mean. Not Theodora”
There. He’d done it. Tit for tat. Her vulnerability for his own, fair is fair. Blowing out a gust of air like he’d surprised himself, Achilleas spun on his heel and walked a few paces away. He was already regretting it. He cursed under his breath, and half turned back toward her “What I mean is that I understand. Maybe. What you feel.”
Oh, but she was failing… It was her milieu in life. A bar was set and she didn’t quite meet the height requirements. Her greatest achievement in life to date was that she was an accomplished rider and Evangelina was certain if that was something that was uniquely hers or if all of her family had that talent stashed away to perfect when they chose too. Her uncle took every opportunity to remind her just how much of a disappointment she was and it was so much easier to believe what someone else said rather than what you knew about yourself. Even Achilleas had just lumped her in as just another one of the Leventi girls, nothing notable or extraordinary to connect her to who she was.
Her bottom lip quivered slightly as she stared up at him and her eyes searched his face not entirely certain of what she hoped to see there at his refusal of her failure. Of course he could say that, he doesn’t know. She had to look away again at that. He couldn’t know of all the times she’d watched the lives of Selene or Theo from the sidelines or the top of a tree at a party and wondered for just a moment what it was like to be someone with the world in their palm.
Evangelina wasn’t prone to wallowing in self-pity but every now and then the demons that rested in her soul came out to play and left her feeling terribly insecure and even more rare did she share such jagged, repugnant shards of her soul to anyone else. People didn’t like things that made them uncomfortable or question the pretty happy lives they led. Even when shopping for horses, people were never drawn to the pretty but plain chestnut that stood next to the tall, noble black with a flowing mind. It didn’t really matter that the black horse had a nasty habit of biting or the horse lacked any true heart. People didn’t want substance when beauty was before them. It was a time and again proven point.
Despite that… A long silent sigh escaped. She couldn’t hold that against people. You couldn’t put a value on heart or substance until you had walked beside Hades.
Being fairly certain she’d just made the man in her company very uncomfortable by showing him her ugly side. She tried simply to fade into the back of the tree. He liked things so neatly tied up in a bow and the world to remain so uncomplicated and here she was laying all this disturbing, personal information at his feet and saying a silent prayer to whichever God might have been listening that he understood what she was saying rather than took it as a breach of protocol.
Her lips parted and she wondered how she could put all of that back inside of her and go back, get on the horse and ride home, but it wasn’t that simple. So instead, she closed her mouth and wrapped the string of the sandal around her index finger as she looked up at him.
‘I kissed someone. Someone else I mean. Not Theodora.’
Her eyes didn’t blink for a moment before she looked down at her hand, her finger turning an off color of white from the tightness of the string on her hand before she unwrapped it slowly. She felt as much as she heard him spin around and tromp a few paces away from her. Her mind was trying to lay some sort of process down for what he’d just said. It was obvious by the way he’d said it, it’d happened after he and her cousin had married. And it was also very obvious that it was something that was eating away at his consciousness and not something he’d have readily shared with just anyone.
That part of it made her heart sore. Sweet words didn’t hold much interest for Evangelina any more, not since she learned that sometimes sweet words didn’t equate sweet actions.
When he half turned to look at her he wouldn’t find judgement there on her face only some sort of knowing understanding of what he’d just told her.
‘What I mean is that I understand. Maybe. What you feel.’
Softening her gaze a little, she pressed her back into the tree and slowly stood up walking over to him. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she sighed softly, “Your secret is safe with me.” Her lips pressed softly together and she tried to convey what his trust had meant with a single look, he wasn’t ready for words… might never be ready to hear what such a simple admission had meant to her but if he couldn’t hear it maybe she could make him feel it with a look.
Her hand slipped away and she turned to lean her shoulder against a tree as she put her shoe back on as she placed the shoe on her foot and ran the strings up her leg to tie it she sighed, “You’re a good man, Achilleas. We all make mistakes in this world, don’t let it consume you.” Glancing over her shoulder at him, she offered a smile that didn’t quite meet her eyes still. “The beauty of having a friend is you aren’t required to bear your mistakes alone.”
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Oh, but she was failing… It was her milieu in life. A bar was set and she didn’t quite meet the height requirements. Her greatest achievement in life to date was that she was an accomplished rider and Evangelina was certain if that was something that was uniquely hers or if all of her family had that talent stashed away to perfect when they chose too. Her uncle took every opportunity to remind her just how much of a disappointment she was and it was so much easier to believe what someone else said rather than what you knew about yourself. Even Achilleas had just lumped her in as just another one of the Leventi girls, nothing notable or extraordinary to connect her to who she was.
Her bottom lip quivered slightly as she stared up at him and her eyes searched his face not entirely certain of what she hoped to see there at his refusal of her failure. Of course he could say that, he doesn’t know. She had to look away again at that. He couldn’t know of all the times she’d watched the lives of Selene or Theo from the sidelines or the top of a tree at a party and wondered for just a moment what it was like to be someone with the world in their palm.
Evangelina wasn’t prone to wallowing in self-pity but every now and then the demons that rested in her soul came out to play and left her feeling terribly insecure and even more rare did she share such jagged, repugnant shards of her soul to anyone else. People didn’t like things that made them uncomfortable or question the pretty happy lives they led. Even when shopping for horses, people were never drawn to the pretty but plain chestnut that stood next to the tall, noble black with a flowing mind. It didn’t really matter that the black horse had a nasty habit of biting or the horse lacked any true heart. People didn’t want substance when beauty was before them. It was a time and again proven point.
Despite that… A long silent sigh escaped. She couldn’t hold that against people. You couldn’t put a value on heart or substance until you had walked beside Hades.
Being fairly certain she’d just made the man in her company very uncomfortable by showing him her ugly side. She tried simply to fade into the back of the tree. He liked things so neatly tied up in a bow and the world to remain so uncomplicated and here she was laying all this disturbing, personal information at his feet and saying a silent prayer to whichever God might have been listening that he understood what she was saying rather than took it as a breach of protocol.
Her lips parted and she wondered how she could put all of that back inside of her and go back, get on the horse and ride home, but it wasn’t that simple. So instead, she closed her mouth and wrapped the string of the sandal around her index finger as she looked up at him.
‘I kissed someone. Someone else I mean. Not Theodora.’
Her eyes didn’t blink for a moment before she looked down at her hand, her finger turning an off color of white from the tightness of the string on her hand before she unwrapped it slowly. She felt as much as she heard him spin around and tromp a few paces away from her. Her mind was trying to lay some sort of process down for what he’d just said. It was obvious by the way he’d said it, it’d happened after he and her cousin had married. And it was also very obvious that it was something that was eating away at his consciousness and not something he’d have readily shared with just anyone.
That part of it made her heart sore. Sweet words didn’t hold much interest for Evangelina any more, not since she learned that sometimes sweet words didn’t equate sweet actions.
When he half turned to look at her he wouldn’t find judgement there on her face only some sort of knowing understanding of what he’d just told her.
‘What I mean is that I understand. Maybe. What you feel.’
Softening her gaze a little, she pressed her back into the tree and slowly stood up walking over to him. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she sighed softly, “Your secret is safe with me.” Her lips pressed softly together and she tried to convey what his trust had meant with a single look, he wasn’t ready for words… might never be ready to hear what such a simple admission had meant to her but if he couldn’t hear it maybe she could make him feel it with a look.
Her hand slipped away and she turned to lean her shoulder against a tree as she put her shoe back on as she placed the shoe on her foot and ran the strings up her leg to tie it she sighed, “You’re a good man, Achilleas. We all make mistakes in this world, don’t let it consume you.” Glancing over her shoulder at him, she offered a smile that didn’t quite meet her eyes still. “The beauty of having a friend is you aren’t required to bear your mistakes alone.”
Oh, but she was failing… It was her milieu in life. A bar was set and she didn’t quite meet the height requirements. Her greatest achievement in life to date was that she was an accomplished rider and Evangelina was certain if that was something that was uniquely hers or if all of her family had that talent stashed away to perfect when they chose too. Her uncle took every opportunity to remind her just how much of a disappointment she was and it was so much easier to believe what someone else said rather than what you knew about yourself. Even Achilleas had just lumped her in as just another one of the Leventi girls, nothing notable or extraordinary to connect her to who she was.
Her bottom lip quivered slightly as she stared up at him and her eyes searched his face not entirely certain of what she hoped to see there at his refusal of her failure. Of course he could say that, he doesn’t know. She had to look away again at that. He couldn’t know of all the times she’d watched the lives of Selene or Theo from the sidelines or the top of a tree at a party and wondered for just a moment what it was like to be someone with the world in their palm.
Evangelina wasn’t prone to wallowing in self-pity but every now and then the demons that rested in her soul came out to play and left her feeling terribly insecure and even more rare did she share such jagged, repugnant shards of her soul to anyone else. People didn’t like things that made them uncomfortable or question the pretty happy lives they led. Even when shopping for horses, people were never drawn to the pretty but plain chestnut that stood next to the tall, noble black with a flowing mind. It didn’t really matter that the black horse had a nasty habit of biting or the horse lacked any true heart. People didn’t want substance when beauty was before them. It was a time and again proven point.
Despite that… A long silent sigh escaped. She couldn’t hold that against people. You couldn’t put a value on heart or substance until you had walked beside Hades.
Being fairly certain she’d just made the man in her company very uncomfortable by showing him her ugly side. She tried simply to fade into the back of the tree. He liked things so neatly tied up in a bow and the world to remain so uncomplicated and here she was laying all this disturbing, personal information at his feet and saying a silent prayer to whichever God might have been listening that he understood what she was saying rather than took it as a breach of protocol.
Her lips parted and she wondered how she could put all of that back inside of her and go back, get on the horse and ride home, but it wasn’t that simple. So instead, she closed her mouth and wrapped the string of the sandal around her index finger as she looked up at him.
‘I kissed someone. Someone else I mean. Not Theodora.’
Her eyes didn’t blink for a moment before she looked down at her hand, her finger turning an off color of white from the tightness of the string on her hand before she unwrapped it slowly. She felt as much as she heard him spin around and tromp a few paces away from her. Her mind was trying to lay some sort of process down for what he’d just said. It was obvious by the way he’d said it, it’d happened after he and her cousin had married. And it was also very obvious that it was something that was eating away at his consciousness and not something he’d have readily shared with just anyone.
That part of it made her heart sore. Sweet words didn’t hold much interest for Evangelina any more, not since she learned that sometimes sweet words didn’t equate sweet actions.
When he half turned to look at her he wouldn’t find judgement there on her face only some sort of knowing understanding of what he’d just told her.
‘What I mean is that I understand. Maybe. What you feel.’
Softening her gaze a little, she pressed her back into the tree and slowly stood up walking over to him. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she sighed softly, “Your secret is safe with me.” Her lips pressed softly together and she tried to convey what his trust had meant with a single look, he wasn’t ready for words… might never be ready to hear what such a simple admission had meant to her but if he couldn’t hear it maybe she could make him feel it with a look.
Her hand slipped away and she turned to lean her shoulder against a tree as she put her shoe back on as she placed the shoe on her foot and ran the strings up her leg to tie it she sighed, “You’re a good man, Achilleas. We all make mistakes in this world, don’t let it consume you.” Glancing over her shoulder at him, she offered a smile that didn’t quite meet her eyes still. “The beauty of having a friend is you aren’t required to bear your mistakes alone.”
In retrospect, Achilleas would think up a myriad of other things he could have said that would have been better. But at that moment, watching Evangelina start to crumble in front of him, he’d blurted out something, anything that he thought might level the playing field. That it was...well, what it was, well that was unfortunate. Turning away from her, he swore under his breath because of all the things he could have said to all the people...Evangelina was Leventi, Theodora’s cousin and had just revealed that he’d betrayed her. Why? His justification sounded stressed even to his own ears, coming as it did under that unnerving steady gaze.
Why was she looking at him like that? He wished all of a sudden that it was back to letting her fall to pieces. That was preferable to having her see his imperfections. His arms had come to fold across his chest, unconsciously defensive as she moved toward him and Achilleas had readied himself for censure, for a rebuke because that was surely what he deserved.
Instead, he found her small hand land upon his shoulder, rigid beneath her touch, and some assurance that she would not share his confession. It was...not what he expected. That there was something soft, yielding in the look she settled on him was equally unexpected, and perhaps the guarded expression he wore loosened a little in response.
‘You’re a good man, Achilleas. We all make mistakes in this world; don’t let it consume you.’
The words, the lack of judgement was such a contrast to Krysto, and Achilleas couldn’t help but compare the two. He valued his friend’s honesty, always had, the soldier did not mince his words or guard his thoughts, and that was one of the things that now even more so the King was glad to have. But he realised that perhaps there was room for both - for Krysto’s no-nonsense approach and this...gentleness that Evangelina offered instead. Even if he didn’t know he deserved it, it was nice all the same.
She smiled at him, and he couldn’t quite keep up with how she was being so blase about it but was at the same time so glad that she was.’The beauty of having a friend is you aren’t required to bear your mistakes alone.’
“I’m...sorry. I have put you in an awkward position. I didn’t mean for you to have to keep secrets. I don’t know why I even said that.”
His arms had unfolded, and one hand rubbed at the back of his neck as if he might manage to rub away the awkwardness of having blurted such a thing out. But he had said it, and Evangelina had been nothing but gracious and….now they were friends?
“I’m sure that’s not how you intended your moment to go” He gave a nervous sounding laugh, before glancing back the way he had come. “ If you’re...if we’re done spilling secrets, then we ought to make sure the horses haven’t been stolen.”
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In retrospect, Achilleas would think up a myriad of other things he could have said that would have been better. But at that moment, watching Evangelina start to crumble in front of him, he’d blurted out something, anything that he thought might level the playing field. That it was...well, what it was, well that was unfortunate. Turning away from her, he swore under his breath because of all the things he could have said to all the people...Evangelina was Leventi, Theodora’s cousin and had just revealed that he’d betrayed her. Why? His justification sounded stressed even to his own ears, coming as it did under that unnerving steady gaze.
Why was she looking at him like that? He wished all of a sudden that it was back to letting her fall to pieces. That was preferable to having her see his imperfections. His arms had come to fold across his chest, unconsciously defensive as she moved toward him and Achilleas had readied himself for censure, for a rebuke because that was surely what he deserved.
Instead, he found her small hand land upon his shoulder, rigid beneath her touch, and some assurance that she would not share his confession. It was...not what he expected. That there was something soft, yielding in the look she settled on him was equally unexpected, and perhaps the guarded expression he wore loosened a little in response.
‘You’re a good man, Achilleas. We all make mistakes in this world; don’t let it consume you.’
The words, the lack of judgement was such a contrast to Krysto, and Achilleas couldn’t help but compare the two. He valued his friend’s honesty, always had, the soldier did not mince his words or guard his thoughts, and that was one of the things that now even more so the King was glad to have. But he realised that perhaps there was room for both - for Krysto’s no-nonsense approach and this...gentleness that Evangelina offered instead. Even if he didn’t know he deserved it, it was nice all the same.
She smiled at him, and he couldn’t quite keep up with how she was being so blase about it but was at the same time so glad that she was.’The beauty of having a friend is you aren’t required to bear your mistakes alone.’
“I’m...sorry. I have put you in an awkward position. I didn’t mean for you to have to keep secrets. I don’t know why I even said that.”
His arms had unfolded, and one hand rubbed at the back of his neck as if he might manage to rub away the awkwardness of having blurted such a thing out. But he had said it, and Evangelina had been nothing but gracious and….now they were friends?
“I’m sure that’s not how you intended your moment to go” He gave a nervous sounding laugh, before glancing back the way he had come. “ If you’re...if we’re done spilling secrets, then we ought to make sure the horses haven’t been stolen.”
In retrospect, Achilleas would think up a myriad of other things he could have said that would have been better. But at that moment, watching Evangelina start to crumble in front of him, he’d blurted out something, anything that he thought might level the playing field. That it was...well, what it was, well that was unfortunate. Turning away from her, he swore under his breath because of all the things he could have said to all the people...Evangelina was Leventi, Theodora’s cousin and had just revealed that he’d betrayed her. Why? His justification sounded stressed even to his own ears, coming as it did under that unnerving steady gaze.
Why was she looking at him like that? He wished all of a sudden that it was back to letting her fall to pieces. That was preferable to having her see his imperfections. His arms had come to fold across his chest, unconsciously defensive as she moved toward him and Achilleas had readied himself for censure, for a rebuke because that was surely what he deserved.
Instead, he found her small hand land upon his shoulder, rigid beneath her touch, and some assurance that she would not share his confession. It was...not what he expected. That there was something soft, yielding in the look she settled on him was equally unexpected, and perhaps the guarded expression he wore loosened a little in response.
‘You’re a good man, Achilleas. We all make mistakes in this world; don’t let it consume you.’
The words, the lack of judgement was such a contrast to Krysto, and Achilleas couldn’t help but compare the two. He valued his friend’s honesty, always had, the soldier did not mince his words or guard his thoughts, and that was one of the things that now even more so the King was glad to have. But he realised that perhaps there was room for both - for Krysto’s no-nonsense approach and this...gentleness that Evangelina offered instead. Even if he didn’t know he deserved it, it was nice all the same.
She smiled at him, and he couldn’t quite keep up with how she was being so blase about it but was at the same time so glad that she was.’The beauty of having a friend is you aren’t required to bear your mistakes alone.’
“I’m...sorry. I have put you in an awkward position. I didn’t mean for you to have to keep secrets. I don’t know why I even said that.”
His arms had unfolded, and one hand rubbed at the back of his neck as if he might manage to rub away the awkwardness of having blurted such a thing out. But he had said it, and Evangelina had been nothing but gracious and….now they were friends?
“I’m sure that’s not how you intended your moment to go” He gave a nervous sounding laugh, before glancing back the way he had come. “ If you’re...if we’re done spilling secrets, then we ought to make sure the horses haven’t been stolen.”
‘I’m...sorry. I have put you in an awkward position. I didn’t mean for you to have to keep secrets. I don’t know why I even said that.’
Pausing in her re-lacing her sandals, she looked over her shoulder at him and frowned at his words. She’d have thought that he’d have figured already that the Leventi’s were the keepers of secrets. The only thing that could turn their head more than money was the brokerage of secrets. Blinking her dark eyes at him, she slowly raised up to her diminutive height that seemed a bit larger than it actually was.
‘I’m sure that’s not how you intended your moment to go.’ He shifted about and his voice held a nervous tension that she wondered about. ‘If you’re...if we’re done spilling secrets, then we ought to make sure the horses haven’t been stolen.’
“Achilleas.” His name dripped thickly out as she looked over the lines of his face. “Was it only once?” She paused only briefly and asked another question. “Do you love her?” Taking a deep breath, Evangelina already had a pretty good idea of the answers to those questions. Tucking a lock of her disheveled chestnut hair behind her ear, “It was a mistake and you realized it wasn’t the right decision to make, otherwise you wouldn’t feel so guilty.”
Looking away, she waved her hands and shook her head. “Do not worry about me, we all have our secrets… yours is no burden.” Besides. Theo is a big girl, I’m sure she has her own.
She wasn’t in any hurry at the moment to let him run back to the horses and put all of this behind him as if it’d never happen. Shifting, she crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. “Tilt your head back and scream.”
Fully expecting him to argue with her, she stepped closer to him, looking up at him with a firm set on her features. “Don’t argue with me, you are in the middle of a forest during a thunderstorm so 1. No one is going to steal the horses in this mess, 2. It’s just me here and if it’ll make you feel better I’ll scream too, 3. Prove you are not a stick in the mud.”
Her index finger had come out during her little tirade and was poking him in the chest, her hair plastered to her cheek and looking like some sort of fierce sodden miniature version of Athena. “You need to learn to let go of things and this helps. Better you scream it here in the woods than crack and crack you will do if you don’t learn what things you are allowed to let eat away at you and what things you aren’t.”
Pressing her lips together tightly, her hands fisted on her hips and she stared up at him daring him to do something for himself.
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‘I’m...sorry. I have put you in an awkward position. I didn’t mean for you to have to keep secrets. I don’t know why I even said that.’
Pausing in her re-lacing her sandals, she looked over her shoulder at him and frowned at his words. She’d have thought that he’d have figured already that the Leventi’s were the keepers of secrets. The only thing that could turn their head more than money was the brokerage of secrets. Blinking her dark eyes at him, she slowly raised up to her diminutive height that seemed a bit larger than it actually was.
‘I’m sure that’s not how you intended your moment to go.’ He shifted about and his voice held a nervous tension that she wondered about. ‘If you’re...if we’re done spilling secrets, then we ought to make sure the horses haven’t been stolen.’
“Achilleas.” His name dripped thickly out as she looked over the lines of his face. “Was it only once?” She paused only briefly and asked another question. “Do you love her?” Taking a deep breath, Evangelina already had a pretty good idea of the answers to those questions. Tucking a lock of her disheveled chestnut hair behind her ear, “It was a mistake and you realized it wasn’t the right decision to make, otherwise you wouldn’t feel so guilty.”
Looking away, she waved her hands and shook her head. “Do not worry about me, we all have our secrets… yours is no burden.” Besides. Theo is a big girl, I’m sure she has her own.
She wasn’t in any hurry at the moment to let him run back to the horses and put all of this behind him as if it’d never happen. Shifting, she crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. “Tilt your head back and scream.”
Fully expecting him to argue with her, she stepped closer to him, looking up at him with a firm set on her features. “Don’t argue with me, you are in the middle of a forest during a thunderstorm so 1. No one is going to steal the horses in this mess, 2. It’s just me here and if it’ll make you feel better I’ll scream too, 3. Prove you are not a stick in the mud.”
Her index finger had come out during her little tirade and was poking him in the chest, her hair plastered to her cheek and looking like some sort of fierce sodden miniature version of Athena. “You need to learn to let go of things and this helps. Better you scream it here in the woods than crack and crack you will do if you don’t learn what things you are allowed to let eat away at you and what things you aren’t.”
Pressing her lips together tightly, her hands fisted on her hips and she stared up at him daring him to do something for himself.
‘I’m...sorry. I have put you in an awkward position. I didn’t mean for you to have to keep secrets. I don’t know why I even said that.’
Pausing in her re-lacing her sandals, she looked over her shoulder at him and frowned at his words. She’d have thought that he’d have figured already that the Leventi’s were the keepers of secrets. The only thing that could turn their head more than money was the brokerage of secrets. Blinking her dark eyes at him, she slowly raised up to her diminutive height that seemed a bit larger than it actually was.
‘I’m sure that’s not how you intended your moment to go.’ He shifted about and his voice held a nervous tension that she wondered about. ‘If you’re...if we’re done spilling secrets, then we ought to make sure the horses haven’t been stolen.’
“Achilleas.” His name dripped thickly out as she looked over the lines of his face. “Was it only once?” She paused only briefly and asked another question. “Do you love her?” Taking a deep breath, Evangelina already had a pretty good idea of the answers to those questions. Tucking a lock of her disheveled chestnut hair behind her ear, “It was a mistake and you realized it wasn’t the right decision to make, otherwise you wouldn’t feel so guilty.”
Looking away, she waved her hands and shook her head. “Do not worry about me, we all have our secrets… yours is no burden.” Besides. Theo is a big girl, I’m sure she has her own.
She wasn’t in any hurry at the moment to let him run back to the horses and put all of this behind him as if it’d never happen. Shifting, she crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. “Tilt your head back and scream.”
Fully expecting him to argue with her, she stepped closer to him, looking up at him with a firm set on her features. “Don’t argue with me, you are in the middle of a forest during a thunderstorm so 1. No one is going to steal the horses in this mess, 2. It’s just me here and if it’ll make you feel better I’ll scream too, 3. Prove you are not a stick in the mud.”
Her index finger had come out during her little tirade and was poking him in the chest, her hair plastered to her cheek and looking like some sort of fierce sodden miniature version of Athena. “You need to learn to let go of things and this helps. Better you scream it here in the woods than crack and crack you will do if you don’t learn what things you are allowed to let eat away at you and what things you aren’t.”
Pressing her lips together tightly, her hands fisted on her hips and she stared up at him daring him to do something for himself.
He wasn’t sure he’d ever heard her call him by his name before...without the title. It felt odd, but then he supposed he’d started it. Perhaps it would have felt less foreboding if she hadn’t fixed him with that look. It made him think he would not be able to brush this conversation away as neatly as he might have hoped.
‘Was it only once?’
He hesitated because that was a question that could be asked in many ways, and he wanted to make sure he was answering the right one. He had kissed Briseis many times, but his relations before his marriage were not a subject of conversation that bore any relevance, and so he instead answered the version that asked if it had been only one kiss since his wedding.
“Yes,” he said, scowling at her from beneath lowered brows. As if once was not bad enough.
‘Do you love her?’
That question had him huff out an irritated breath and spin away from her. That he wasn’t sure who she was asking the question about didn’t help, that narrowing it down didn’t give him an answer was even worse. Achilleas wasn’t convinced he knew either way - what even was love other than a sentimental label offered up to soothe people’s egos. It wasn’t..tangible and so thus far had eluded him.
Briseis was comfortable and felt safe. But he didn’t love her. And Theodora...was a conundrum of a woman who he’d never quite been able to look away from. His wife now. But he hadn’t said he loved her and she hadn’t said she loved him.
“What? I don’t know...what has that got to do with anything?!"
Looking back to Evangelina as she labelled his indiscretion as a mistake, he felt the perverse need to disagree, even if she spoke his own thoughts back at him. And he did feel guilty, horribly so. Both for having broken trust with Theodora and for having crossed that line with Briseis again, when she had been so miserable when he’d stepped away the first time. When she said it was no burden, he wanted to tell her it was, that it pressed on him even now. And as for Evangelina..now she would know this when she saw her cousin again, and so he widened his circle of deceit to include her.“You seem terribly blase about it” he said, a little sharply.
‘Tilt your head back and scream.’
“I beg your pardon?” He’d barely had time to process and respond to those ridiculous words before she was going on and Achilleas just gaped at her, his gaze dropping to where her finger had popped up to jab him in the chest.
With his features frozen somewhere between disbelief and indignation he looked up and into her face again, thinking this had to be the most ridiculous thing he’d ever experienced. And he’d fought off a herd of baby goats stampeding through his home.
“I’m not going to scream in the woods,” he said. “I don’t care if there isn’t anyone here. I’m not...cracking...I’m fine.”
It might have been convincing had his arms not folded back across his chest, and his fingers weren’t digging grooves into his biceps where they pressed so tightly. “ I appreciate your trying to help. That sort of thing might be useful to you. But absolutely not.”
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He wasn’t sure he’d ever heard her call him by his name before...without the title. It felt odd, but then he supposed he’d started it. Perhaps it would have felt less foreboding if she hadn’t fixed him with that look. It made him think he would not be able to brush this conversation away as neatly as he might have hoped.
‘Was it only once?’
He hesitated because that was a question that could be asked in many ways, and he wanted to make sure he was answering the right one. He had kissed Briseis many times, but his relations before his marriage were not a subject of conversation that bore any relevance, and so he instead answered the version that asked if it had been only one kiss since his wedding.
“Yes,” he said, scowling at her from beneath lowered brows. As if once was not bad enough.
‘Do you love her?’
That question had him huff out an irritated breath and spin away from her. That he wasn’t sure who she was asking the question about didn’t help, that narrowing it down didn’t give him an answer was even worse. Achilleas wasn’t convinced he knew either way - what even was love other than a sentimental label offered up to soothe people’s egos. It wasn’t..tangible and so thus far had eluded him.
Briseis was comfortable and felt safe. But he didn’t love her. And Theodora...was a conundrum of a woman who he’d never quite been able to look away from. His wife now. But he hadn’t said he loved her and she hadn’t said she loved him.
“What? I don’t know...what has that got to do with anything?!"
Looking back to Evangelina as she labelled his indiscretion as a mistake, he felt the perverse need to disagree, even if she spoke his own thoughts back at him. And he did feel guilty, horribly so. Both for having broken trust with Theodora and for having crossed that line with Briseis again, when she had been so miserable when he’d stepped away the first time. When she said it was no burden, he wanted to tell her it was, that it pressed on him even now. And as for Evangelina..now she would know this when she saw her cousin again, and so he widened his circle of deceit to include her.“You seem terribly blase about it” he said, a little sharply.
‘Tilt your head back and scream.’
“I beg your pardon?” He’d barely had time to process and respond to those ridiculous words before she was going on and Achilleas just gaped at her, his gaze dropping to where her finger had popped up to jab him in the chest.
With his features frozen somewhere between disbelief and indignation he looked up and into her face again, thinking this had to be the most ridiculous thing he’d ever experienced. And he’d fought off a herd of baby goats stampeding through his home.
“I’m not going to scream in the woods,” he said. “I don’t care if there isn’t anyone here. I’m not...cracking...I’m fine.”
It might have been convincing had his arms not folded back across his chest, and his fingers weren’t digging grooves into his biceps where they pressed so tightly. “ I appreciate your trying to help. That sort of thing might be useful to you. But absolutely not.”
He wasn’t sure he’d ever heard her call him by his name before...without the title. It felt odd, but then he supposed he’d started it. Perhaps it would have felt less foreboding if she hadn’t fixed him with that look. It made him think he would not be able to brush this conversation away as neatly as he might have hoped.
‘Was it only once?’
He hesitated because that was a question that could be asked in many ways, and he wanted to make sure he was answering the right one. He had kissed Briseis many times, but his relations before his marriage were not a subject of conversation that bore any relevance, and so he instead answered the version that asked if it had been only one kiss since his wedding.
“Yes,” he said, scowling at her from beneath lowered brows. As if once was not bad enough.
‘Do you love her?’
That question had him huff out an irritated breath and spin away from her. That he wasn’t sure who she was asking the question about didn’t help, that narrowing it down didn’t give him an answer was even worse. Achilleas wasn’t convinced he knew either way - what even was love other than a sentimental label offered up to soothe people’s egos. It wasn’t..tangible and so thus far had eluded him.
Briseis was comfortable and felt safe. But he didn’t love her. And Theodora...was a conundrum of a woman who he’d never quite been able to look away from. His wife now. But he hadn’t said he loved her and she hadn’t said she loved him.
“What? I don’t know...what has that got to do with anything?!"
Looking back to Evangelina as she labelled his indiscretion as a mistake, he felt the perverse need to disagree, even if she spoke his own thoughts back at him. And he did feel guilty, horribly so. Both for having broken trust with Theodora and for having crossed that line with Briseis again, when she had been so miserable when he’d stepped away the first time. When she said it was no burden, he wanted to tell her it was, that it pressed on him even now. And as for Evangelina..now she would know this when she saw her cousin again, and so he widened his circle of deceit to include her.“You seem terribly blase about it” he said, a little sharply.
‘Tilt your head back and scream.’
“I beg your pardon?” He’d barely had time to process and respond to those ridiculous words before she was going on and Achilleas just gaped at her, his gaze dropping to where her finger had popped up to jab him in the chest.
With his features frozen somewhere between disbelief and indignation he looked up and into her face again, thinking this had to be the most ridiculous thing he’d ever experienced. And he’d fought off a herd of baby goats stampeding through his home.
“I’m not going to scream in the woods,” he said. “I don’t care if there isn’t anyone here. I’m not...cracking...I’m fine.”
It might have been convincing had his arms not folded back across his chest, and his fingers weren’t digging grooves into his biceps where they pressed so tightly. “ I appreciate your trying to help. That sort of thing might be useful to you. But absolutely not.”
Tilting her head she regarded him for a long moment after he admitted to not knowing what love had to whether or not he’d kissed another girl and she suddenly wondered if he’d been in love with Theo, least he’d have understood exactly what it had to do with his problem. She let her eyes probe his features with an earnest curiosity, the lines at her mouth drawing a little. There was lust and there was love and the Leventis had them into very separate categories. If her cousin was in love with Achilleas, then his love for another would burn a bit deeper. Lust, well… that was something entirely different. If it’d happened just the once and was just an animalistic impulse on his part it was easily forgivable, at least, in Evangelina’s mind. Men were not so different then stallions or stags or rams and sometimes their lower brains got them into trouble, you couldn’t hold that against them unless… Evangelina sighed and looked at her feet.
“Achilleas, there is a distinct difference between kissing someone once because emotions have overtaken you and kissing someone because they hold a piece of your soul in their hands.” She pressed her lips together again and looked up at him from beneath her lashes. She wasn’t going to explain it any deeper than that to him, some things he was going to have to sort through on his own accord.
He didn’t bother concealing the open shock and repugnance at her suggestion of doing something he was uncomfortable doing. She blinked at him innocently and let have his little outburst.
‘I’m not going to scream in the woods,’ His tone barked out incredulously. ‘I don’t care if there isn’t anyone here. I’m not...cracking...I’m fine.’
There was a slight wince, did that mean he thought she was cracking up? Shifting her dark eyes down, she stepped away from him. Of course, he thought she was cracking up… Hade’s Fury, she thought she was cracking up to some degree. But there was something almost hurtful and narrow minded with his words that had stopped her from pursuing her intention with any real tenaciousness.
‘I appreciate your trying to help. That sort of thing might be useful to you. But absolutely not.’
Her spine stiffened and her nostrils flared slightly, if that was what he thought of her than she would let him. Clearing her throat, she walked past him, “Fine, you aren’t cracking up like the rest of us… We’d better get back then.”
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Tilting her head she regarded him for a long moment after he admitted to not knowing what love had to whether or not he’d kissed another girl and she suddenly wondered if he’d been in love with Theo, least he’d have understood exactly what it had to do with his problem. She let her eyes probe his features with an earnest curiosity, the lines at her mouth drawing a little. There was lust and there was love and the Leventis had them into very separate categories. If her cousin was in love with Achilleas, then his love for another would burn a bit deeper. Lust, well… that was something entirely different. If it’d happened just the once and was just an animalistic impulse on his part it was easily forgivable, at least, in Evangelina’s mind. Men were not so different then stallions or stags or rams and sometimes their lower brains got them into trouble, you couldn’t hold that against them unless… Evangelina sighed and looked at her feet.
“Achilleas, there is a distinct difference between kissing someone once because emotions have overtaken you and kissing someone because they hold a piece of your soul in their hands.” She pressed her lips together again and looked up at him from beneath her lashes. She wasn’t going to explain it any deeper than that to him, some things he was going to have to sort through on his own accord.
He didn’t bother concealing the open shock and repugnance at her suggestion of doing something he was uncomfortable doing. She blinked at him innocently and let have his little outburst.
‘I’m not going to scream in the woods,’ His tone barked out incredulously. ‘I don’t care if there isn’t anyone here. I’m not...cracking...I’m fine.’
There was a slight wince, did that mean he thought she was cracking up? Shifting her dark eyes down, she stepped away from him. Of course, he thought she was cracking up… Hade’s Fury, she thought she was cracking up to some degree. But there was something almost hurtful and narrow minded with his words that had stopped her from pursuing her intention with any real tenaciousness.
‘I appreciate your trying to help. That sort of thing might be useful to you. But absolutely not.’
Her spine stiffened and her nostrils flared slightly, if that was what he thought of her than she would let him. Clearing her throat, she walked past him, “Fine, you aren’t cracking up like the rest of us… We’d better get back then.”
Tilting her head she regarded him for a long moment after he admitted to not knowing what love had to whether or not he’d kissed another girl and she suddenly wondered if he’d been in love with Theo, least he’d have understood exactly what it had to do with his problem. She let her eyes probe his features with an earnest curiosity, the lines at her mouth drawing a little. There was lust and there was love and the Leventis had them into very separate categories. If her cousin was in love with Achilleas, then his love for another would burn a bit deeper. Lust, well… that was something entirely different. If it’d happened just the once and was just an animalistic impulse on his part it was easily forgivable, at least, in Evangelina’s mind. Men were not so different then stallions or stags or rams and sometimes their lower brains got them into trouble, you couldn’t hold that against them unless… Evangelina sighed and looked at her feet.
“Achilleas, there is a distinct difference between kissing someone once because emotions have overtaken you and kissing someone because they hold a piece of your soul in their hands.” She pressed her lips together again and looked up at him from beneath her lashes. She wasn’t going to explain it any deeper than that to him, some things he was going to have to sort through on his own accord.
He didn’t bother concealing the open shock and repugnance at her suggestion of doing something he was uncomfortable doing. She blinked at him innocently and let have his little outburst.
‘I’m not going to scream in the woods,’ His tone barked out incredulously. ‘I don’t care if there isn’t anyone here. I’m not...cracking...I’m fine.’
There was a slight wince, did that mean he thought she was cracking up? Shifting her dark eyes down, she stepped away from him. Of course, he thought she was cracking up… Hade’s Fury, she thought she was cracking up to some degree. But there was something almost hurtful and narrow minded with his words that had stopped her from pursuing her intention with any real tenaciousness.
‘I appreciate your trying to help. That sort of thing might be useful to you. But absolutely not.’
Her spine stiffened and her nostrils flared slightly, if that was what he thought of her than she would let him. Clearing her throat, she walked past him, “Fine, you aren’t cracking up like the rest of us… We’d better get back then.”
That his answer proved, unsatisfactory was clear when Evangelina canted her head to the side and send him a long, appraising look. He wanted to shift uncomfortably but made himself stand still because there wasn’t anything for her to read into his words. Or was there? Feeling like he’d shown his hand without meaning too, he blinked back at her when she spoke, reading the mild exasperation she seemed to convey in her expression as well as her words.
‘Achilleas, there is a distinct difference between kissing someone once because emotions have overtaken you and kissing someone because they hold a piece of your soul in their hands’
He frowned again, because really, what was this nonsense about souls. And he wanted to dismiss it because he’d been raised not to give so much credence to emotions, and certainly not to entertain the idea that someone could hold so much influence over him. Love was nothing to do with anything. Emotions shouldn’t hold so much weight.
Only, even if he loathed to acknowledge it, the past few days had more than tested what he thought had been an iron-fisted grip on such things. There were few times in his life where he’d ever felt quite so at sea, and so maybe he knew he was foolish to dismiss any truth in what Evangelina said. And though he couldn’t say that he knew what it was to feel anything like what she described, it didn’t mean he didn’t want too, somewhere small and stifled, buried deep down.
Whatever softness and sentimentality might have been in the Mikaelidas lord had been hidden far enough away over the years so it would not make him a target for his father’s derision, so much so that Achilleas himself sometimes forgot it was there, and it took him by surprise. Like now, where he felt all of a sudden lacking because he couldn’t claim ever to have felt like that about another person. Was that what Evangelina felt like with Lord Gavriil? Realising that she had him at a disadvantage at raising a subject he knew little about, his gaze, which had been so blazing and stubbornly defiant only moments before, slid away uncomfortably.
Perhaps it was that discomfort that had him dig his heels in so hard at her next suggestion, reasserting himself. He tried to do it respectfully, but that he hadn’t quite pulled it off became apparent when the little Leventi attempted once again to run off and leave him alone in the woods. He could feel the offence rolling off her as she pushed past him, and without thinking about it, reached out to catch her arm before she could stomp off again. It was his turn to sound exasperated.
“Wait. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m not saying I’m any better; I just don’t think your ways of coping are necessarily mine. In fact, the thought is enough to make me want to rip off my own arm, alright?”
His words seemed enough to have him make the connection that he was holding on to her arm, and Achilleas drew back his hand quickly. “ Forgive me. But can we agree to disagree on this?”
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That his answer proved, unsatisfactory was clear when Evangelina canted her head to the side and send him a long, appraising look. He wanted to shift uncomfortably but made himself stand still because there wasn’t anything for her to read into his words. Or was there? Feeling like he’d shown his hand without meaning too, he blinked back at her when she spoke, reading the mild exasperation she seemed to convey in her expression as well as her words.
‘Achilleas, there is a distinct difference between kissing someone once because emotions have overtaken you and kissing someone because they hold a piece of your soul in their hands’
He frowned again, because really, what was this nonsense about souls. And he wanted to dismiss it because he’d been raised not to give so much credence to emotions, and certainly not to entertain the idea that someone could hold so much influence over him. Love was nothing to do with anything. Emotions shouldn’t hold so much weight.
Only, even if he loathed to acknowledge it, the past few days had more than tested what he thought had been an iron-fisted grip on such things. There were few times in his life where he’d ever felt quite so at sea, and so maybe he knew he was foolish to dismiss any truth in what Evangelina said. And though he couldn’t say that he knew what it was to feel anything like what she described, it didn’t mean he didn’t want too, somewhere small and stifled, buried deep down.
Whatever softness and sentimentality might have been in the Mikaelidas lord had been hidden far enough away over the years so it would not make him a target for his father’s derision, so much so that Achilleas himself sometimes forgot it was there, and it took him by surprise. Like now, where he felt all of a sudden lacking because he couldn’t claim ever to have felt like that about another person. Was that what Evangelina felt like with Lord Gavriil? Realising that she had him at a disadvantage at raising a subject he knew little about, his gaze, which had been so blazing and stubbornly defiant only moments before, slid away uncomfortably.
Perhaps it was that discomfort that had him dig his heels in so hard at her next suggestion, reasserting himself. He tried to do it respectfully, but that he hadn’t quite pulled it off became apparent when the little Leventi attempted once again to run off and leave him alone in the woods. He could feel the offence rolling off her as she pushed past him, and without thinking about it, reached out to catch her arm before she could stomp off again. It was his turn to sound exasperated.
“Wait. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m not saying I’m any better; I just don’t think your ways of coping are necessarily mine. In fact, the thought is enough to make me want to rip off my own arm, alright?”
His words seemed enough to have him make the connection that he was holding on to her arm, and Achilleas drew back his hand quickly. “ Forgive me. But can we agree to disagree on this?”
That his answer proved, unsatisfactory was clear when Evangelina canted her head to the side and send him a long, appraising look. He wanted to shift uncomfortably but made himself stand still because there wasn’t anything for her to read into his words. Or was there? Feeling like he’d shown his hand without meaning too, he blinked back at her when she spoke, reading the mild exasperation she seemed to convey in her expression as well as her words.
‘Achilleas, there is a distinct difference between kissing someone once because emotions have overtaken you and kissing someone because they hold a piece of your soul in their hands’
He frowned again, because really, what was this nonsense about souls. And he wanted to dismiss it because he’d been raised not to give so much credence to emotions, and certainly not to entertain the idea that someone could hold so much influence over him. Love was nothing to do with anything. Emotions shouldn’t hold so much weight.
Only, even if he loathed to acknowledge it, the past few days had more than tested what he thought had been an iron-fisted grip on such things. There were few times in his life where he’d ever felt quite so at sea, and so maybe he knew he was foolish to dismiss any truth in what Evangelina said. And though he couldn’t say that he knew what it was to feel anything like what she described, it didn’t mean he didn’t want too, somewhere small and stifled, buried deep down.
Whatever softness and sentimentality might have been in the Mikaelidas lord had been hidden far enough away over the years so it would not make him a target for his father’s derision, so much so that Achilleas himself sometimes forgot it was there, and it took him by surprise. Like now, where he felt all of a sudden lacking because he couldn’t claim ever to have felt like that about another person. Was that what Evangelina felt like with Lord Gavriil? Realising that she had him at a disadvantage at raising a subject he knew little about, his gaze, which had been so blazing and stubbornly defiant only moments before, slid away uncomfortably.
Perhaps it was that discomfort that had him dig his heels in so hard at her next suggestion, reasserting himself. He tried to do it respectfully, but that he hadn’t quite pulled it off became apparent when the little Leventi attempted once again to run off and leave him alone in the woods. He could feel the offence rolling off her as she pushed past him, and without thinking about it, reached out to catch her arm before she could stomp off again. It was his turn to sound exasperated.
“Wait. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m not saying I’m any better; I just don’t think your ways of coping are necessarily mine. In fact, the thought is enough to make me want to rip off my own arm, alright?”
His words seemed enough to have him make the connection that he was holding on to her arm, and Achilleas drew back his hand quickly. “ Forgive me. But can we agree to disagree on this?”
He’d stopped her before she could make her grand exit back to the horses. Her hands squeezed into tiny fists but she managed to collect herself before she swung around on him and sucked in a deep breath. Evangelina prayed to any of the Gods that might be listening that what she’d find when she looked up at him wasn’t that same levelled look of absurdity that had been there just a few moments ago and that had sent her into a pained huff.
It was easier to be angry than it was to let him know just how much his words had cut her. It was bad enough that she was grappling with not living up to the expectations of her family or herself for that matter but did she have to be completely out of her mind too?
‘Wait. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m not saying I’m any better; I just don’t think your ways of coping are necessarily mine. In fact, the thought is enough to make me want to rip off my own arm, alright?’
A tremble seemed to start at her feet and slowly vibrate up her body until she seemed to be shaking every so faintly. He’d only just seemed to realize she’d existed, she could have him toss her into that lump of people… you know the ones… When you see them you take a step backwards and try to blend in to the nearest available plant and hope you can escape having to talk to them. She couldn’t handle that… not from him and not when she so desperately needed a friend.
Her lip trembled and her hand came up to cover it as her eyes flitted from him to the greenery to his right and then the ground which seemed the safest place to stare. His hand flew away from her like she’d burned him and her breath caught… she felt so out of place… so small and insignificant standing there next to him.
‘Forgive me. But can we agree to disagree on this?’
She didn’t answer him immediately, couldn’t have answered him right then if she wanted too. She didn’t know what to say or what words were and it was like suddenly communicating seemed like the hardest thing in the world. Wetting her lips, her mouth opened but words didn’t come out so she closed it and continued to stare at the ground. She needed to know why, but she wasn’t sure how to ask him.
Deliberating in silence for another few moments, she slowly raised her big doe eyes at him and searched his face before she finally spoke.
“I need to know why the thought of doing something like that makes you want to rip your arm off?” Her words were so very quiet and so very unlike her. “Is it about control over yourself? Or is it me? Am I trying to push too hard at being your friend?” Her lip began to tremble again at that thought and old insecurities starting to filter into her mind.
“I just…” Her words cut off and she found it easier to look down at the ground again and dig the toe of her sandal into the wet dirt. Taking a deep breath, she continued, “I just hoped you trusted me enough to try something that would have made you feel uncomfortable.” She smiled sadly at the dirt and then raised her gaze again with the same sad smile still on her face as she reached out and set her small hand on his bicep, “I’m sorry.” She didn’t delve deeper into why she was sorry, didn’t think she could have if she’d wanted to. She pressed her lips together and glanced back towards the way of the horses.
“Let’s just get back to the horses, okay?” She murmured hesitantly. You couldn’t force a person’s affection or trust, it was there or it wasn’t. And no matter, how much she pushed and shoved at his walls… the tiny crumble that he gave her was going to have to be what sustained her and she was just going to have to learn to live with that.
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This character is currently a work in progress.
Check out their information page here.
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He’d stopped her before she could make her grand exit back to the horses. Her hands squeezed into tiny fists but she managed to collect herself before she swung around on him and sucked in a deep breath. Evangelina prayed to any of the Gods that might be listening that what she’d find when she looked up at him wasn’t that same levelled look of absurdity that had been there just a few moments ago and that had sent her into a pained huff.
It was easier to be angry than it was to let him know just how much his words had cut her. It was bad enough that she was grappling with not living up to the expectations of her family or herself for that matter but did she have to be completely out of her mind too?
‘Wait. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m not saying I’m any better; I just don’t think your ways of coping are necessarily mine. In fact, the thought is enough to make me want to rip off my own arm, alright?’
A tremble seemed to start at her feet and slowly vibrate up her body until she seemed to be shaking every so faintly. He’d only just seemed to realize she’d existed, she could have him toss her into that lump of people… you know the ones… When you see them you take a step backwards and try to blend in to the nearest available plant and hope you can escape having to talk to them. She couldn’t handle that… not from him and not when she so desperately needed a friend.
Her lip trembled and her hand came up to cover it as her eyes flitted from him to the greenery to his right and then the ground which seemed the safest place to stare. His hand flew away from her like she’d burned him and her breath caught… she felt so out of place… so small and insignificant standing there next to him.
‘Forgive me. But can we agree to disagree on this?’
She didn’t answer him immediately, couldn’t have answered him right then if she wanted too. She didn’t know what to say or what words were and it was like suddenly communicating seemed like the hardest thing in the world. Wetting her lips, her mouth opened but words didn’t come out so she closed it and continued to stare at the ground. She needed to know why, but she wasn’t sure how to ask him.
Deliberating in silence for another few moments, she slowly raised her big doe eyes at him and searched his face before she finally spoke.
“I need to know why the thought of doing something like that makes you want to rip your arm off?” Her words were so very quiet and so very unlike her. “Is it about control over yourself? Or is it me? Am I trying to push too hard at being your friend?” Her lip began to tremble again at that thought and old insecurities starting to filter into her mind.
“I just…” Her words cut off and she found it easier to look down at the ground again and dig the toe of her sandal into the wet dirt. Taking a deep breath, she continued, “I just hoped you trusted me enough to try something that would have made you feel uncomfortable.” She smiled sadly at the dirt and then raised her gaze again with the same sad smile still on her face as she reached out and set her small hand on his bicep, “I’m sorry.” She didn’t delve deeper into why she was sorry, didn’t think she could have if she’d wanted to. She pressed her lips together and glanced back towards the way of the horses.
“Let’s just get back to the horses, okay?” She murmured hesitantly. You couldn’t force a person’s affection or trust, it was there or it wasn’t. And no matter, how much she pushed and shoved at his walls… the tiny crumble that he gave her was going to have to be what sustained her and she was just going to have to learn to live with that.
He’d stopped her before she could make her grand exit back to the horses. Her hands squeezed into tiny fists but she managed to collect herself before she swung around on him and sucked in a deep breath. Evangelina prayed to any of the Gods that might be listening that what she’d find when she looked up at him wasn’t that same levelled look of absurdity that had been there just a few moments ago and that had sent her into a pained huff.
It was easier to be angry than it was to let him know just how much his words had cut her. It was bad enough that she was grappling with not living up to the expectations of her family or herself for that matter but did she have to be completely out of her mind too?
‘Wait. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m not saying I’m any better; I just don’t think your ways of coping are necessarily mine. In fact, the thought is enough to make me want to rip off my own arm, alright?’
A tremble seemed to start at her feet and slowly vibrate up her body until she seemed to be shaking every so faintly. He’d only just seemed to realize she’d existed, she could have him toss her into that lump of people… you know the ones… When you see them you take a step backwards and try to blend in to the nearest available plant and hope you can escape having to talk to them. She couldn’t handle that… not from him and not when she so desperately needed a friend.
Her lip trembled and her hand came up to cover it as her eyes flitted from him to the greenery to his right and then the ground which seemed the safest place to stare. His hand flew away from her like she’d burned him and her breath caught… she felt so out of place… so small and insignificant standing there next to him.
‘Forgive me. But can we agree to disagree on this?’
She didn’t answer him immediately, couldn’t have answered him right then if she wanted too. She didn’t know what to say or what words were and it was like suddenly communicating seemed like the hardest thing in the world. Wetting her lips, her mouth opened but words didn’t come out so she closed it and continued to stare at the ground. She needed to know why, but she wasn’t sure how to ask him.
Deliberating in silence for another few moments, she slowly raised her big doe eyes at him and searched his face before she finally spoke.
“I need to know why the thought of doing something like that makes you want to rip your arm off?” Her words were so very quiet and so very unlike her. “Is it about control over yourself? Or is it me? Am I trying to push too hard at being your friend?” Her lip began to tremble again at that thought and old insecurities starting to filter into her mind.
“I just…” Her words cut off and she found it easier to look down at the ground again and dig the toe of her sandal into the wet dirt. Taking a deep breath, she continued, “I just hoped you trusted me enough to try something that would have made you feel uncomfortable.” She smiled sadly at the dirt and then raised her gaze again with the same sad smile still on her face as she reached out and set her small hand on his bicep, “I’m sorry.” She didn’t delve deeper into why she was sorry, didn’t think she could have if she’d wanted to. She pressed her lips together and glanced back towards the way of the horses.
“Let’s just get back to the horses, okay?” She murmured hesitantly. You couldn’t force a person’s affection or trust, it was there or it wasn’t. And no matter, how much she pushed and shoved at his walls… the tiny crumble that he gave her was going to have to be what sustained her and she was just going to have to learn to live with that.
