Hope Falls

“Emmett was their father, I can’t be angry at you for wishing he were here to help with them.”

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“I’ll cross that bridge if I end up coming to it… It was worth the risk, to me.”

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Indira brushed her thumb across his cheek, pulling away a few moments later with a soft laugh.

"You've been in their lives now longer than he was, which was... that's crazy isn't it? Sometimes that reality is like a stone wall, how long it has been. I am envious of the Fae, and their ancestors, how they get opportunities to speak to their passed. Even if there was a way for us, Emmett would be pissed at me for it - I can hear the reprimand now, things like that aren't for us to dabble in." She rambled, gently tracing patterns down the length of his arm. "Oh, you uh, you never knew what your surprise was going to be - for our anniversary. You may aswell know now, the gentleman who would have made it possible has had to sail home. This - this guy had made a boat, only one suitable for lakes, at the moment but it had trackings in it that would have made it stable for your chair. I was going to take you to the lake, we were going to get out on the water."

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"I will end up with no mistress, no wife and children who are angrier with the world then I have ever seen them." Conan laughed humourlessly. "I must have done something terrible to be punished so,"

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"We are just friends, remember." Kael grinned, twirling her hair around the tip of his finger. "It doesn't matter how irresistible you find me."

“You kissed me first, it is clearly you who finds me irresistible, Prince Kael. But I shall keep your secret safe with me.”

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“My father would say you are being tested to prove your worth for whatever rewards are coming your way.. the older I get the more I believe the man just enjoyed suffering and tried to justify it..”

"I'd agree with you,"

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"You are very valiant, keeping secrets like that come at a great cost."

“Where do you wish to go from here?”

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“I’m sure you’ll make it worth my while before you leave… and when you get back…”

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"In regards to you and I, or in regards to the Kingdom?"

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"There may not be the time I am afraid, I have so much to organise, so much to study and then when I return home with my wife I will have to get work on making an heir. I'm not sure I would have the time to entertain you aswell, in the way you are used to me doing it." Kael laughed.

“Well now I feel betrayed, hurt, all the words for such negative feelings.”

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“All of it. We cannot carry on as we have been, can we?”

"Not crestfallen?"

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"I want us to move past this, but I can't make promises to be cheerful any time soon. I will be able to fake it in front of nobles, do my job to the best of my ability. A certain amount of my attention does need to be on my children though, for the next few weeks at the very least. Lucian believes Cassius will be the one to keep the closer eye on but, Aesira has never asked for me to give her space before."

“You do not want me gone, then?”

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“Ah, especially crestfallen!”

"Oh, good, crestfallen is a very good word to use. I need to start using it more often in conversation with people."

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"I don't want you gone, no, not at all." Conan shook his head, leaning back in his seat.

“I - I thought me being gone would be your ideal scenario.” Liara replied, clearly surprised.

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“Oh it’s good I’m crestfallen over your behaviour? You have a way with women.”

"Your tremendously good at your job, quick-minded, witty. You are a good Queen, these people would be worse off without you." Conan sighed, hesitantly reaching his hand across the table and left his palm flat faced up for her to take. "Our trust in one another shaking, me being hurt by your actions does not take away from that."

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"Mm, I know. It must be self-taught because I couldn't picture my father being this smooth with anyone and I doubt any of his family were either."

“Oh I don’t know - your mother doesn’t seem the type to be easily wooed and yet your parents are very clearly charmed by one another.”

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Liara was equally as hesitant as she reached her hand over and took his. “I know we cannot go back to how we were… but can we at least try and move on from where we are?”

"I am happy to do that, yes. You'll just have to be patient, with how much I can help you over the next coming weeks because of the children. They will either need me or they will continue to refuse to speak to me and I don't know quite how I will take that."

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"It's just me," Cassius warned not even a heartbeats after he had knocked and entered his sisters room. Eye blood shot and face puffy as he continued with a scratchy voice, "I was told I was allowed in, that you wouldn't be mad at me."

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"They are embarrassingly love sick, and showing it when I am around more and more often as the years go on."

“Maybe with the freedom to find your own bride you’ll end up with that…”

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“Of course…If there’s anything I can do to make it easier, I’ll do it.”

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“Not mad, no.” Aesira shook her head, curled around her knees on the floor in front of her fire, watching the flames crackle.

Cassius lowered himself down to his knees beside her, tiredly wrapping his arms around her shoulder. Gaze turning to watch the fire in front of them.

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Conan shook his head, "Everything is unknown at the moment. Is there anything you need from me?"

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"Time will tell,"

“No… nothing for now. This is something we shall just have to take in stride and hope it does not become too much of a spectacle. I should be able to contain it.”

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“Have you seen Father yet? Or Ira?” Aesira asked as she leaned into him, closing her eyes.

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“I thought I’d have you for much longer before you left me again.” Indira mused sadly as she leaned back, taking in his face. “A few weeks before you disappear off again for months. I barely have time to stop missing you.”

"Dad knocked on my door earlier, but I didn't answer and he uh, I think he got the hint." Cassius whispered. "I haven't seen Ira either, this is the first time I've left my room today. I - They didn't even let us say goodbye."

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"The lords will find some way to gossip about it all, they have viper tongues. Many left, of the ones who were loyal to mine and Lucian's cousin but there are always going to be the ones that you can't weed out and it has been seen before, how it will all happen again, how we are all going to fall. I avoid it through one means, the vision occurs again for another reason years later. It is a constant hum."

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"Distance makes the heart grow fonder, if I were here all the time you would tire of my face." Kael hummed. "I will come back sunkissed, you won't recognise me. Do you think the sand of your home land will do me good, or dry me out?"

“I think the food will be your main enemy… I shall write you a list of what to avoid.”

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“You inherited your crown and then a war. I think you have done a fair job since then.”

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“Never let us say goodbye, she stopped us from it. Mum was the one who posted the guards at our door to make sure we couldn’t leave. She stopped us herself.”

"What? N- no." Cassius gulped, "That can't be true. She wouldn't have -" His voice dropped to a whisper, "Why would she do that? She was going to d- die. She thought, we all thought she was going to die, why would she stop us from saying bye to her?"

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"I - Thank you."

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"And the lotions the women wear, the stuff you came here with irritated my nose. It made me feel like I was suffocating."

“I will not apologise for smelling nice.” Indira laughed then, shaking her head.

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“So we did not see it, I suppose. And now we won’t see her again…”

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“I will stay out of everyone’s way for now. I know people are not best please with me but - I am free if you need to come to me.”

"The guards said five - five years but I don't think they'll let her live that long. If she was so sure that she was going to die today, maybe they decided an execution was too kind. They are plotting something, they'll have her captured by someone. Make it painful, turn it into torment. Th- They'll plot something and she'll be scared and alone and in pain and we won't even know. I - They probably won't even tell us when she dies."

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"If people aren't civil to you then inform me and I will speak to them, don't expect my children to listen though."

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"I felt like my lungs were constricting, like bugs were crawling up through my nostrils."

“I don’t think so either. I think they’ll find a way to kill her before she returns but Magnus assured me otherwise.”

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“If people aren’t civil I’ll extend them some grace for the first infraction… You just haven’t lost your lover, or your children their mother, Dagmar was friend to many after so long here… I can take the verbal beatings for a little while whilst people hold their grudges.”

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“Well now you’re being rude. You will have to learn to tolerate it, whilst you are there.” Indira mumbled as she pulled away completely, reaching for her tea again.

"I only meant to play," Kael's smile faded as he spoke.

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"You are their Queen, and there is a difference. You shouldn't tolerate from anyone, Liara. Even the children will only have a few days of grace before they have to start acting like grown ups."

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"I think Magnus is going to be as sad about it all as the rest of us."

“It is a duty to tolerate. I truly do not mind.”

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“I think part of it is guilt. He got his rule breaking relationship with little to no consequence…”

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“It was play until you doubled down. Then it was reminding me that I am still a foreigner here who has had to lose parts of myself to conform…” Indira sighed, shaking her head. “It is fine. Done with.”