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Neutral
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Isadora could tell her words hadn't resonated in the way she'd intended, her eyes studying the man before her. Perhaps he didn't feel the same way or her sincerity made him uncomfortable? Her mood shifted only lightly as she remembered why she kept her thoughts to herself. Though she wouldn't admit it to herself likely ever, Isadora knew deep down that perhaps it wasn't the world that needed him, but her.
Damn you heart... quit toying with me... Isadora nodded, a slightly blank look on her face as she gazed out the window. "I think I can work with that. I won't be getting my hopes up, but I will at least try," she murmured, her fingers tapping lightly against her arm as her anxiousness began to return. She hadn't wanted to make things awkward, but God did she feel it. |
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Lightbringer
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Xevon shook his head lightly. He couldn't ... he couldn't admit the truth. Not to her of all people. Well, he probably could... and she would take it about as well as he'd figure. Question if it all was an act, if he ever was sincere, how long had he been acting, did he actually ever hate her, all that stuff. Exhausting to think about. "Effort is what matters most," Xevon confirmed idly, resting his head back against the wall of the carriage. "Even if nothing else comes of it, you gave it your best shot. Sometimes, that's all you can do and that's a lot." |
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Neutral
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Isadora nodded, her gaze lazily flickering back over to Xevon. "Sounds like I'll be trying my hand had putting my best foot forward on something new then," she said softly, her eyes sliding closed for a moment as she took a deep breath.
Dont get too close.. Isadora could tell herself to be careful all she wanted, but at the end of the day, things would play out how they always intended. Things just felt so much easier when she was cold and distant or always angry. Now, her thoughts were troubling her, making it hard to sort out what was real and what was forced. Exhausting was indeed the right word for it. |
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Lightbringer
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Xevon finally sighed and leaned back. Did he really...? Heck with it, why not? It couldn't hurt at the very least. "I mean, it can't hurt," he agreed and exhaled. He chewed on the inside of his lip for a moment or two. "Or it could." His hazel eyes slid over to look at her, even if his face was turned toward the carriage window. "Say the empire has a suitor that offers his hand to you," Xevon mused idly, ignoring the way his chest twinged at the words. "Would you take it?" |
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Neutral
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Isadora's eyes opened as she looked at Xevon curiously, wondering where he was going with things. At his question, her nose crinkled, wondering why he'd ask such a thing. The question still stood of course, and she wouldn't leave him hanging on it, wondering what her feelings would be.
Isadora took a shallow breath, shaking her head. "No." She replied, her lips pursed for a moment as she searched for the right words to say. "Whether I like it or not, I am your wife. No other suitor has the right to offer me his hand, nor would I be pleased to take another's," she shook her head, firm on her answer. It played a little too close to her growing feelings, but it was at least the truth. |
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Lightbringer
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Xevon didn't bother looking back at the meadows and fields as they traveled onward throughout the land. She seemed to hesitated and search for the words after stating that she wouldn't. But yet, he still couldn't find satisfaction with the answer, somehow. Perhaps it was... strange, or something inside of him that just couldn't believe that someone could actually have feelings for him-him, not just the face he put up. He finally turned to look at her, a somewhat strange burning look in his hazel eyes. "Wrong. If they offer and it'll end the war or whatnot? You take it," Xevon insisted. "A silly title that neither of us really wanted in the first place is not more important than lives." |
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Neutral
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Isadora's jaw clenched at his response, her stare turning to more of a glare. "No. I don't care if it would end the war. I don't want some stranger," she seethed, almost insinuating that she did want him. For some reason the suggestion got under the princess's skin, her eyes prickling with a fiery look. "I'm not giving up on this," she sighed, her lips drawing into a thin line as she tip toed around what she knew would be easiest to say. "I want thi- This can work," she huffed, irritated that she couldn't gather the right words. Besides, the empire wouldn't just let Xevon be. Not when he still held a claim.
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Lightbringer
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"Why?" Xevon's words came out far more fiery and irritated than he likely intended for them to be. His gaze--his own glare--turning to match hers. He masked the hesitant confusion, that burning doubt, with irritation and some fire. It wasn't a challenge, there wasn't the same fire as when he addressed her father, it was a far more vulnerable sort of fire. "Why not?" Xevon finally asked again, struggling to even voice the question. That burning doubt that rested just above his stomach sat like a heavy stone. "Just because it can work doesn't mean... that it should." |
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Neutral
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"Is it so hard for you to realize that I actually might like you?" The words flew out of her mouth before she could stop them, fire and hints of sincere passion flowing behind them. "Maybe I want this to work. Maybe I don't want anything else," she huffed, seeming to have finally reached her breaking point.
Her face was a deep shade of red, her chest rising and falling heavily as she searched Xevon's face for any reaction. Isadora had been blindsided by the fact she was happy around Xevon. That he made her laugh- actually laugh. He wasn't as arrogant or anything like that as he'd seemed. He was good. |
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Lightbringer
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Xevon swallowed thickly as she nearly snapped at him about actually liking him. Was it hard? It wasn't hard to realize ... certain aspects of what she had said. That wasn't the hard part. It was the uncertainty that lingered in his own chest. Which gathered itself and strung along his words like a spider spinning a web. "Maybe you should," he finally whispered, head dropping against the window, eyes closed. Finally, eyes closed. Not seeing a thing, not watching her reaction. "I'm not... I'm not what you think I am. I'm not. I--I ..." how did he explain himself? What could he say that would help her understand? "I am nothing more than a faceless puppet," he finally mumbled. "I put my face on, wear the mask, act the part... that's it. It's not me you like... it's the face I wear." Xevon took in a breath and let it out again. "Seeing you unwind and be happy... I can't hurt you like that. I can't string you along with my ... act." |
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Fall 
Day 
