"It's peaceful out here." She commented softly, looking away from him and at the bees, and one colorful butterfly, on her hand and flitting around her. "You come out here a lot to relax?" The question was phrased an spoken in a way that made it obvious he didn't have to answer if he didn't want to. A lot of her questions were like that, actually.
He shrugged a little. "When I can." He replied quietly. He looked around the garden a bit, raising his eyebrows slightly when he saw the bees and butterfly fluttering around her. He rubbed a hand across his face tiredly
"You look like you could use a nap. I'd suggest laying off the coffee and getting sleep when you can." There was that tone, the one she used when giving advice to people that put the time into finding her and traveling out to see her. A suggestion, not an order or anything, but something in her voice made you want to listen. She whispered something inaudible to Soren, and the butterfly fluttered over to land on his nose, wings flapping lightly every once in a while.
He looked at her. "I can't. Too much paperwork." And too many nightmares. He added in his mind. He jumped slightly as the butterfly landed on his nose, staring at it in confusion. "What…?" He trailed off, raising an eyebrow. His eyes went from the butterfly, to her. "I see you're good with animals." He said in a slightly teasing tone.
"Your health is still important." She said decidedly, before smiling. "You could say that. Really, it's just a matter of communication." She might've been a bit too humble about that, considering not everyone could just…talk to animals. The butterfly seemed perfectly content to stay right there. "She likes the color of your eyes. They remind her of a flower she saw a while back."
"No, my ability to be wed and produce an heir is more important than my sleep, if you ask most of my court." Soren replied dryly. He nodded. "I see. So I have flower eyes, now?" He asked with a soft laugh. His eyes were the same eyes all the Aevin's had. Blue, with a dark ring on the outside and a pale ring on the inside.
"Apparently." Celeste said, nodding. Though, she filed the first bit of information away, to worry about later. And she would worry. Because that's what she did, worry about other people and their issues, and try to help the best she could. "I can see what she means."
He winked, laughing softly. "It's the family eyes." He explained. "Every Aevin has them. Except, obviously, those who marry into the family." He shrugged slightly. "Of course, blue eyes is a recessive gene, so sometimes we get a ruler who doesn't have Aevin eyes, and instead has, say, brown ones. But they always pass on the gene, and it eventually reappears."
"Science." She said solemnly, the effect diluted by the smile she was failing to fight. She clicked her tongue, and the butterfly left Soren's face, fluttering over to a nearby flower. "I wonder if my eyes are recessive or dominant, in that case." She mused, as the bees scattered somewhat to go continue on their way.
Soren nodded, then looked at her. "Well…what color are they?" He asked slowly. "Normally. Because it looks like your eyes change colors a lot." He shrugged. "Also did you inherit them from a parent? And if so, what was the other parents eye color?"
Celeste looked over at him, blinking slowly. "That is the color of my eyes. They've always done that." She said, scrunching up her nose slightly in thought. "I got it from…my mother. Her eyes did the same, though they tended to lean towards darker shades. My father's eyes-" She faltered, on the word father. "-were grey. Steel grey."
Soren nodded, giving a soft hum. "Well, in that case…either the eyes pass from female to female, or they're dominant. It may also be some sort of witch thing." He shrugged slightly. "I don't know if being a witch would effect that." He said. He looked up at the sky for a moment, then back at her.
"My status as a witch is an accumulation of my parent's natural magic." Celeste said, shrugging a shoulder as she lifted her hands, returning to twisting little braids into her oddly colored hair. "So it's more likely from my mother's side, someway. I…don't really have any way of knowing, though, without children of my own."
Soren nodded. "I see." He said. "Magic passes on in a weird way, sometimes." He thought of the line of Aevin's magic, how it would seemingly randomly appear in one person, but then not appear again for generations. He gave a soft chuckle at her words about not knowing. "Yeah…and I'd assume you're in no hurry to have children."
"The idea of having children is slightly terrifying." Celeste admitted, her gaze slightly unfocused and in the general direction of Soren. "But I guess the likely hood of me even falling mutually in love is low, so it's not really something to worry about." She wasn't sure she'd ever be able to, between the demons that followed her around, her reputation, and the general way she preferred to live. So she ignored that the best she could, relying on animals and plants to keep away her too-often need for conversation. And yet, you're still lonely.
Soren chuckled. "Yeah…me too." He admitted, then started slightly, surprised he had admitted that. "No matter what I want, most likely I'll have to make a marriage alliance at some point. It's just politics." He shook his head. He couldn't imagine marrying, and sharing a bed with a woman he didn't love. Could definitely not imagine having…intercourse with someone he didn't love. Because if he married, he would have to, to have children so there were heirs for the throne.
"The shackles of circumstance." Celeste said knowingly, shaking her head as her eyes refocused on Soren. Almost all of her hair was in the small braids now, and without even really thinking about it, she twisted all of the braids into one braid. She shot him a small and wearily empathetic smile, something about the expression giving off the impression that she carried an incredible weight on her shoulders. "You think there's any chance you'll be able to find you..love? Or at least someone you could fall in love with?"
"Yeah…" He trailed off, considering her question. "I'm not sure. Most women I meet, they only want me for my money and the throne." He shrugged. "The others are…" He thought of Hithia, a princess of a nearby land, who had been his friend since childhood. "The others are too much of a friend for me to ever see in another way." He sighed. "And then there's the ones who would just love to get me in bed with them, but would never love me." He snorted. "So no, I don't think I'll ever find love."
(ack sorry should be Hiathea, not Hithia XD)
She nodded as she listened, sort of wrapping her arms around her waist. Though they both had different reasons and situations, it seemed they had more in common than either of them had originally thought. There was one major difference though. While Soren was prisoner to his situation, and had his future laid out for him, she had forcefully taken the reigns to her own. She was trying to make her own future, to shape it the way she wanted. "Well…I hope you find someone you at least get along with."
He nodded. "Yeah. Same to you." He said, glancing at her for a moment. A servant came up to them, and he looked up. "What is it?" He asked.
"The rooms are cleaned and ready for the guests." The servant said.
Soren nodded. "Shall we go, then?" He said to Celeste, offering her his arm.
The servant was silent, watching. Though it was obvious he was wondering what, exactly, the king was doing, alone in a garden with a strange woman.
Celeste blinked and nodded, smiling warmly as she accepted the offered arm. Pluto reappeared from wherever he had disappeared to, eyeing the servant for a moment, before slipping off ahead of them out of the clearing and down the path. "We shall." She said, raising an eyebrow playfully at Soren.
The servant started walking.
Soren followed. His dark hair was no longer tamed and held back under his crown, but falling forward onto his forehead, small strands slipping through the holes of the crown to stick out.
The servant led them through the palace, to the West wing of the palace. He went down a hallway on the left, and went to a closed doors. "This one was selected for the lady." He said.
Soren stiffened, the muscles in his arm noticeably tightening. "That room?" He said slowly. "You should know very well that that one is off limits."
"Sir? It is unoccupied, like all the rooms in this wing other than your own." The servant said slowly, as if confused. His eyes were slightly narrowed, watching them carefully.
"Who told you this room would be okay?" Soren slipped his arm out from Celeste's, stepping closer to the servant.
"Duke Jacos Kaer, my lord." The servant answered, looking at Soren.
Celeste's brows drew together as Soren tensed, keeping her eyes on him even as he stepped closer to the servant. Anger was bad. Anger was something to be avoided. But it was something she knew how to deal with, too, even if this was obviously a bit more than anger. And despite the habitual fear crawling up her throat and threatening to keep her from speaking, her voice was steady when she spoke. "It's perfectly fine, your Majesty. I really can find a place in the city to stay."
Soren sucked in a breath. "No. There are other rooms for you to stay in. Just not…not this one." Not Alana's rooms. Any but hers. He looked at the servant. His jaw was clenched. "Find a different room. I shall deal with the Duke."
The servant bowed. "Of-of course, sir." He stammered. "But…there aren't any others on this level…"
"Then put her on the next." Soren said easily.
"Sir, that's your level. And the only women's rooms up there are…" The servant trailed off.
"Did I ask for your advice? No. I told you where to room her, now do it." Soren said angrily.
The servant ducked his head. "Of course. My apologies, your highness." He scurried away quickly.
"I don't want to cause any problems." Celeste's voice was quiet and soft, and though steady, maybe a bit too quiet. Like she was trying to keep from upsetting him further. And she was. "This room situation is complicated, and I don't want to cause you to make any decisions that would garner scorn." The colors of her eyes now were swapping between darker colors, browns and almost blacks. If one thought about it, about her mention of her mother's eyes doing the same, they might come upon a connection better left buried.
Soren sighed, and his shoulders slumped slightly. "It's not your fault. It's just…the politics here are complicated, and some of the nobles are seeing your and Lin's arrival as a way to throw me off balance." He replied, not looking at her for a long moment. He was staring at the door, and he touched the handle almost sadly, before turning away, back to her. "It's not your fault." He repeated. He gave a slightly bitter smile. "You won't cause scorn. At least, no more than usual. Gossip, maybe. But what court is complete without a little gossip?" He shook his head.
"Are you sure?" Celeste tilted her head just slightly in question, her voice till soft, but gaining back some solidity. "It really wouldn't be a problem for me to find somewhere else." She sounded like a broken record, and she knew it, but she couldn't bring herself to stop offering. Besides, with a bit more thought, it might be a better option for everyone involved. There would be no questions or worries, on the chance one of her nightmares had her waking up screaming, and possibly waking others up.
Soren shook his head. "I can't." He replied. "I can't accept your offer." He shook his head. "Because if I did, the Duke would see it as a weakness on my part, and if I am seen as weak…well. There are others of the Aevin house, with a lesser claim to the throne, that would be very happy indeed to see me dethroned and disgraced." He said. Perhaps it wasn't the best thing to be telling this girl of the instability of his court, but…she had already seen much of the fighting, and any bright person would have been able to gather as much as what he'd told her. "So just…if you really want to help, room where I ask you to, and don't kick up a fuss. At least in public." He gave a weak smile.
Celeste opened her mouth, maybe to apologize, maybe to continue her insistence, but paused, before closing it. She hadn't been lying, she really didn't want to disrupt anything further for him, or make things worse. And if Soren said the best way to do that was to let it be, she would. For his sake, at least. "Then…I appreciate the lengths you're going to, to allow us places to stay in your palace. Thank you." Leaving it at that was good. She hoped.