There is love in our bodies and it holds us together;

[akingmuststand]

Characters: Schneizel el Britannia, Cornelia li Britannia, Valeria
Location: The town hall
Time: 3rd of August, early morning
Brief Summary: After Cornelia's survival has been ensured by Myhrta, her brother remains reluctant to leave her side. Valeria tags along. But it so happens that the white prince has a lot to answer for.
Rating: PG-13

Comments

[akingmuststand]

He heard her shift, heard her mien change, so attuned to it he was. The tilt of her chin, the thinning of her mouth - they rang like church bells in the silence to him, and he knew he'd been right. She'd been awake, and waiting, and she would not show her weakness to him.

For a moment, unseen by her, he smiled, and it was soft and warm and fond. For a moment, unseen by her, he was the man he had been once, or at least, the man he'd shown.

When he turned to look at her, his expression had cooled somewhat. There she lay, and even in thin sheets and a simple shift, even with him knowing what was hidden beneath both, beneath the shield that was the proud cant of her head, she was as statuesque as ever she'd chosen to look. Beautiful, radiant, resplendent - he'd never hidden the fact that such was what he thought of her. She looked so now, if not moreso for the strength that shone over and through the patina of injury, of pain, of that weakness she so strove to hide but had always been, and would always be, crystal clear to him.

He could have smiled then, a brighter smile than before, but instead he crossed back to sit by her side once more. His expression remained business like - he understood the need to explain the situation, had done so before, and this was almost grounding in a way he didn't need but appreciated nevertheless. There was no room for nostalgia in speaking of the present circumstances, and it was with those he had to concern himself.

"This place is named Demeleier, and it encompasses everything from the mountains to the north, the lake to the south, and the woodland on either side of the village we're currently in," he said, watching her closely. She could adapt on the battlefield, but off it? That proved a more difficult thing. Right now, however, she would not respond well to being treated delicately - never really had, in truth - and so he continued on, without considering how to sweeten the words.

"We are, for the time being, trapped here, whilst time in our own worlds has drawn to a standstill. There are under fifty of us here, and very few of that number know anything about Britannia, or anyone from it. You met Myhrta already - her ability alone should account somewhat for my words."