Re: Hope Falls

**BestNameEva** Fri 19 Apr - 23:23

"Go to bed, if sleep is what you need. Not for so long though." Magnus chuckled. "If I did not have children to tend to, I would be settling again for a few hours."

Phoenix Fri 19 Apr - 23:39

“Will you tell everyone I don’t want to be disturbed? I just… don’t want to deal with anyone.”

**BestNameEva** Sat 20 Apr - 0:06

"For a day, only one though. Diws the rule apply to your brother too?"

Phoenix Sat 20 Apr - 0:21

“No. Never him.”

**BestNameEva** Sat 20 Apr - 9:00

(( Sorry I fell asleep ))

"Okay, I'll make sure people are informed." Giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze, he got to his feet and headed towards the door. "If you need anything, send for me."

Phoenix Sat 20 Apr - 9:35

“Thank you…”

**BestNameEva** Sat 20 Apr - 15:10

Magnus nodded, stepping from the room.

(( Skip a couple of hours? ))

Phoenix Sat 20 Apr - 15:56

((Can do))

**BestNameEva** Sat 20 Apr - 16:07

(( Alright, I'll shove something up when I can. Its a busy day today))

Phoenix Sat 20 Apr - 19:44

((No worries, have fun))

**BestNameEva** Sat 20 Apr - 21:04

Karina sat in the living quarters of her rooms, perched on the edge of a fabric seat with a bowl of soup in front of her. Absently picking at the bread roll that came with it, trying not to look to often towards her sons room where she had left his outside of the door.

"Niether of my children want to see me, and I..." Conan began from the doorway of Liara's rooms. "I want to give Lucian space to be present for Karina. So, will you.. entertain me over lunch? We have things to discuss, anyway."

"I won't get this, I won't remember all of this." Kael frowned, staring at the notes of customs in the East with a tilted head and frown. "I will end up insulting people."

Phoenix Sat 20 Apr - 21:22

“I won’t entertain you, no.” Liara snorted as she looked over her shoulder at him from where she’d been stood by her window, having been staring out of it for hours now. “But I will come to lunch with you, to hear what it is you wish to discuss.” She added. Leaving her fingertips on the ledge for a few more moments before pulling herself away and walking toward him, gesturing with her arm for him to lead the way.

“He will come out when he’s ready.” Lucian assured as he noticed Karina looking toward Ira’s door once again. “A watched flower doesn’t bloom and all that… perhaps an hour in bed will do you good. Just closing your eyes.”

“I would offer to come and be of service but…” Indira mused lightly as she moved to sit beside him on her couch, resting a tray with cups of tea on it on the table in front of them. “I think the important thing to remember is that nobody is waiting for you to slip up so they can be offended. As long as everyone can tell you are intending to be good natured and polite, any mistakes you make will likely be overlooked unless grossly offensive. And you’d have to go out of your way to be offensive.” She picked up her own cup and tucked her legs underneath her as she took a sip. “We have a few weeks before you go, no? I will do what I can to help before you go.”

**BestNameEva** Sat 20 Apr - 21:37

"I don't have the energy for your snide jabs, I'll retract the invite if you make a habit of that." Conan answered tightly, moving away from the door as he made his way towards the dining hall.

"I feel nauseous," Karina whispered, eventually pushing the entire plate away and leaning back into her seat. Rubbing both her palms across her face, tightening the skin around her eyes. "The... conversation you wanted to have. You want to have it in the bedroom, mm?"

"I have events to organise before that, an entire festival... essentially." Kael wrinkled his nose. "I was never supposed to find my own wife, that was always my mother's role."

Phoenix Sat 20 Apr - 21:46

“Are you not happy you get more freedom with it all now, choosing your own bride?” Indira asked, raising her eyebrow slightly in question. “I thought this would be ideal, almost total freedom in choosing who to spend the rest of your life with. Back when I was on the market I’d have adored that freedom.”

“Right now I just want you to close your eyes and rest for a bit, even if you don’t sleep. You don’t look very well, Kari. And you cannot be here for Ira if you’re not feeling at least slightly okay. Come - just rest for an hour.”

“I don’t think either of us has a lot of energy for anything right now. We had a very early wake up call…” Liara murmured as she followed behind. “My father once said naps were for the lazy and the sick, that we shouldn’t sleep during the day… Today is one of the few days I have been tempted to ignore his voice in my head in following decorum…”

**BestNameEva** Sat 20 Apr - 21:54

"You look worse than I do," Karina countered, not unkindly. Slowly pushing to her feet in defeat as she continued, "You've tried to hide it with clean clothes, but you've lost weight this week. Did you not send people to the kitchen to get you food whilst you were down there? It doesn't look like it."

"Cancel any meetings if you must, any duties. With all that has occurred here this morning, the halls need silence. We all need sleep. No one would judge you for catching up on what we've lost."

"It isn't to do with me though, is it? What I want, what is best for me. It is the bigger picture, the alliances, the economics. It is much easier, to have my mother thinking of all of those details."

Phoenix Sat 20 Apr - 22:09

Indira put down her cup and reached over to squeeze his shoulder. “Well, whilst you’re thinking of all that do not forget that she cannot be too friendly with you. You promised that I would always be your closest friend, we cannot have your future bride upstaging me in that area” she teased softly. “But in all seriousness… at least that is something you can hold on to? That even if this woman is a perfect bride for your country, but is not perfect for you… then you won’t be alone when you return. So... I hope that takes some of the worry away from it for you.”

“I think I shall need the distraction of my duties. The mind goes to terrible places when it is allowed to wander… I am sure you know that as well as I do.”

“There’s an unfathomable amount of material down there that needed covering. I was annoyed I had to take a few hours to sleep. Food can be consumed now it is all over.”

**BestNameEva** Sat 20 Apr - 22:24

"Are you determined to make widow a third time?" She swallowed, casting a glance over her shoulder when she got into the room to make sure he had followed before beginning to undress.

"What terrible places could your mind possibly go? Everything has worked out well for you, and your brazen lie is enough to ensure that I couldn't possibly be angry at you. I would be a monster when you were so selfless."

Kael reached to rest his hand on her face, fingertips lightly grazing her cheek. "I spoke to Ada, I haven't told you yet, have I? She told me it is set in our destinies - that you and I will always be connected now. She couldn't give details but.. she wouldn't have said a thing that wasn't true."

Phoenix Sat 20 Apr - 22:37

“You do not have energy to listen to my barbs but you have the energy to make your own; remarkable.” Liara sighed softly, shaking her head and stopping in her tracks. “What are we doing with lunch Conan when you’d clearly rather pull your own teeth out?” She whispered. “Are we even now with the sniping? I can imagine you have more to say? Would you rather we just go back to my room where you can shout and get it all off your chest without anyone perceiving you as a monster as you seem so afraid of? Would it ease this situation even a little? Would anything?”

“I was determined to not let them hold Eden for a decade or more in order to punish you for trying to train her at home…”

“Of course we will always be connected… You made me promise I would not leave you, and I don’t intend to do so.” Indira rested her hand over his own with a soft smile. “But I hope what she has said eases your mind a little and helps you believe that I do intend to stick around.”

**BestNameEva** Sat 20 Apr - 22:48

"Mm," Kael's hummed confirmation came, leaning his head forward to touch it to hers. "Is there anything you'd like me to try and bring back here for you, from your home? A kind of food, or spice.. something personal. Would you like to write a letter for Ishaan or Zoya?"

"Yes. I know." Karina breathed, stepping out of her dress and the undergarments with it. Exhaustion to heavy to put on any sleeping clothes as she slipped beneath covers, lifting up the ones on the other side of the bed for him. "Your joining me, aren't you?"

"What do you think the answer is to that? There is no easing." Conan mumbled as he sat at the table. "I want to know why you lied to them."

Phoenix Sat 20 Apr - 23:03

“We both know your mother wouldn’t allow it to be sent, the way she hasn’t let me send any in the time I’ve been here. It’s okay.” Indira closed her eyes at his touch, “Just bring yourself back home, and make sure anyone you bring with you, you do not like them better than me.” She laughed softly. “You have far too much to do to be worrying about fetching things back for me.”

“Because even though you are all convinced I wanted Lady Dagmar gone, that I spoke to the Guardians with the intent of getting rid of her, that’s not the case.” Liara pulled out her seat as she sat down herself. “I’m not a mother, so I know I don’t understand fully how she would have felt at learning that she would have leave your children behind. But I know enough to know why she was so angry she beat me so badly… I do not blame her for what she did, and I didn’t think she should die for it either. I lied because I had to do something. Because I wouldn’t be able to function for the rest of my life if she’d died as a result of my actions.”

Lucian nodded as he wheeled himself to the bed, gritting his teeth as he pulled himself over onto the bed.

**BestNameEva** Sat 20 Apr - 23:14

Karina moved nearer, running fingertips across the muscles in his shoulders. "Thank you, for this morning. For this week... had I been smarter I'd have known you were doing something to help. I'm sorry I didn't have faith in you."

"My mother will never know if letters get mixed up in whatever paperwork I have to bring me. It isn't like how it was, just after Ishaan left. The trust is built... I know you wouldn't hurt us."

"And do you feel better now?" He questioned, leaning forward to rest his chin against his fingers. Watching her with tired eyes.

(( Night night))

Phoenix Sun 21 Apr - 7:44

“Of course I don’t Conan. None of this is what I wanted. I have spent years with your family, and I know they do not see me as family but I care for your children, seeing them lose their mother is heartbreaking. And I cared for you too, seeing you hurt like this wasn’t the intention either. I know you believe otherwise but it doesn’t make it true.”

“I should have said something sooner, rather than losing sight of what was up here and focusing solely on fixing things.”

“Thank you, if you are sure… I do not have so much to tell them but it would be nice to assure them all that I am safe, that they do not need to worry about me because I am in safe hands.” Indira gave him a small smile, turning her head slightly to kiss his cheek.

**BestNameEva** Sun 21 Apr - 9:52

"I trusted you, we - we had discussions about all of this, we had a script to follow and you went off course." Conan mumbled tiredly. "I was ready for us to try, I was... something was growing, I had told you that. Now - Why couldn't you have just stuck to what we'd agreed?"

"We both could have done things differently," Karina concluded quietly, slipping his shirt off of his back for him. "Neither of us is angry at the other then, neither hurt?"

"Tell them whatever you want to, I won't be looking at the contents myself. I trust you, entirely." Kael turned his head, without so much as a thought, to catch her lips with his own. Whispering, "I am sorry, that it is Zoya marrying Ishaan. I will... try and do something to check in on Ayaz, if he is present. I'll try and look after all of them, as much as they allow. As much as I can get away with."

Phoenix Sun 21 Apr - 10:35

“It is alright if we follow a script, but Luthien wasn’t, she was veering off what we had planned… I just wanted to ease the situation.” Liara stared at the table, tapping it with her fingers. “I did not mean for it to go the way it did. I know you do not believe it, but I won’t lie and say it was what I intended.”

“Why would I be angry?”

“Thank you… I appreciate it more than you know.” Indira whispered, pressing her lips to his gently, moving her hand to rest against his neck.

**BestNameEva** Sun 21 Apr - 11:00

"Because I had listened to Thea and assumed the worst of you, because I - I wished Emmett were here." Karina answered tentatively.

"The Guardians will do worse than kill you when they find a way to prove you lied to them, they aren't stupid. You got them on a technicality, you were lucky, nothing more."

Kael closed his eyes, fingertips tangling in her hair as he brought her closer to him.

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