01-28-2022, 06:34 PM
Lillibet
There is something that reveals itself in Fyr’s molten eyes as she names him the embodiment of fear. It’s only visible for a moment - she is lucky enough to catch it on the tail end of her eye roll - but whatever it is behind that special gleam, it’s enough for her breath to catch in her throat and for the distant coyotes to disappear into the background like long-forgotten music. In that moment, there is only Fyr and the glow they share.
When it fades in his eyes, Lillibet can still picture the expression in her mind. Her earlier blush threatens to rise against her alabaster cheeks once more, but their conversation suddenly turns and it is no longer a moment fit for coquetry or humor. She feels drawn to him, teetering there with indecision as she gazes upon the area of his shoulder that she might press her ivory frame against in comfort, were she bolder. The desire catches her unprepared. Their shared trauma creates a connection that the bygone Sylvan princess may never have experienced had the Southern kingdom not perished beneath Beqanna’s sea.
I know who you are.
He says it so knowingly that Lillibet can’t help the smile that returns to her face, pressing up the corners of her pouted mouth the tiniest bit. Part of her had expected him to know of her family, of course. The South was not as large as it seemed, and her mother had held the crown for many years. But to hear him say he knows of her and not just her parents fosters a bit of pride in the alabaster woman. “Oh?” is all she inquires in response, granting him the opportunity to build on the statement as the flames that linger along his spine and in the air around them flicker and roil.
Her offer is met with a question dripping with the banter and jest that has swiftly grown familiar, allowing them both to slip back into playful grins and away from their brief vulnerability. She will tell him about her own family and their absence in time, but for now she cannot bring herself to say the words aloud. She has done it many times at this point, as reiterated their absence to all who would listen in hopes they had seen any of the three. But no one had. And now she is tired, so tired, of searching and searching.
Their shared trauma can wait.
For now, she debates briefly on telling him why she is here, exploring the canyons in the middle of the night. It doesn’t take her long to decide, though her response to his inquiry does not lack amusement. “A princess may request you live in this place when she makes it her own.” Her golden eyes watch his reaction carefully, for he is the first she’s voiced her intentions to aside from Herrin. The first who could hold it against her, or try to steal it away.
And with the flames that surround her, she knows he could do just that.
“Lillibet,” she finally grants him with a tuck of her chin to her narrow chest.
