Fiero stirred at even the lightest touch, blinking awake and scanning the room with sleepy confusion. This wasn't his room, this was… oh. Oh yes, Nora. He looked around, let his eyes snag on the emptiness of the bed, and then squinted angrily when he saw her outside. The balcony was warded, of course, so it wasn't like she could really leave, but it was still annoying to have to drag her inside before she caught a chill and got herself sick and useless to him.
He padded outside quietly, sliding open the door and wandering over to her side. "Birdy, darling, it's late. You should be in bed, you'll catch your death out here." Goosebumps were already starting to pebble up across his legs so he took one of her hands, pulling her to her feet gently. "I'll get you a book if you can't sleep, let's go back where it's warm."
In shock by his sudden appearance, Nora didn't have time to wipe the tears that had streamed down her face. Why was he so angry, it wasn't like she was going to escape and she was wearing warm clothes. "Wait, I don't want a book!" She tried to escape his grip, but he was much too strong for her. "Why are you so angry? I didn't do anything wrong!" Was her being upset, really an awful thing? Did he expect her to be the fierce girl all the time? Was he really so cold hearted that he wouldn't just leave her to cry even for a moment. "I said stop!" Finally yanking hard enough, her arm slipped through his grip. "I don't want to go to bed, just leave me alone!" Her voice was so loud she was sure she woke someone up. "Are you really so cold that you don't care if a girl is crying. I may be a witch, but I'm still human." Now tears came out again, but not sad ones, no, she was frustrated, frustrated with this whole situation. "Leave me be." Her eyes narrowed eyes she glared at him. "I'm not running…" her eyes traveled down to the floor and she hugged herself. Stop showing weakness Nora, he'll use it against you. "Please…." When she looked back up, the tears in her eyes made her eyes reflect the moons light even more. She was no longer glaring, her face had softened. Nora looked more like a girl in this moment than she had the whole time she had been here. Small and petite, she almost looked…. helpless.
Fiero waved a hand at the door to lock it, concentrating very hard on not crushing Nora's wrist as he towed her inside. Magic had made him strong but when he was like this, half asleep and too annoyed to keep his thoughts in their neat little lines, it became a problem. See, he didn't want to hurt Nora. She was going to be presented to the court tomorrow and anyways it was clear she was feeling bad enough as it was, a little pain would only make her break down farther. and the last thing he needed to deal with was a bigger hissyfit.
He only started paying attention when she ripped herself away, sighing. "Darling, you're vastly overreacting. I'm not angry at you, I'm annoyed, and even that's starting to fade out. We both know why I can't leave you alone—the collar's a cute trick but if you try hard enough you can still cast. Now lay down. If you like, I'll refrain from sharing a bed with you, but there are things in motion beyond this little temper tantrum and I need you presentable, ergo the lovely bedroom I've so generously provided you. Stop glaring at me, stop curing in on yourself, and for the gods' sake stop acting like you're just an average girl." It was his turn to glare her down, a lazy sneer painted across his mouth as he squashed the pity rising in his chest. Nora was the black witch, the bloodletter. She was simply a tool, no matter how fragile she looked in the moonlight. "We both know how far you are from human."
Those last words left her speechless. Far from human? Her words wouldn't come out, it was like he had finally had her in his grasp and was squeezing the last bit of life out of her. "Not human…." She repeated in a hushed tone. She had this many times, so why now was it only hitting her? The tears stopped and she quickly wiped her face. He was right, in the first place she had no idea why she was crying. Regaining her usual composure, she moved to the bed and sat on the edge not fully getting in. "Forget this." In one twist of her finger, her hair had grown out to her mid back. Long hair was different, but she would have to get used to it. She was going to be officially presented tomorrow, she needed to get her act together. With that small spell, another crack appeared in the collar. "Let's sleep." She laid down and closed her eyes. Soon enough the darkness took over and she was asleep.
Fiero watched with satisfaction as she snapped back to herself, all those pesky tears finally fading away until she was the way she'd been before. He'd thought she'd be like all the other golems he'd seen in his life, trifling and eager to please, but it figured that a puppet made by the greatest witch of her time would come with its own quirks. And… Nora was an it, wasn't she? He wouldn't assign a tool its own pronouns, that was far too personal a connection. He'd have to keep from assigning any to her. But that could be a problem for a different night. For now, he slipped into bed, drew the blankets up around his shoulders, and fell asleep dreaming of ways to fix the collar before she broke away from it once and for all.
He woke up exactly three hours and fourty-seven minutes later, when the sun was just a glimmer on the horizon, and began to get ready.
Nora was still fast asleep, curled up into the blankets. She looked more like a child when she slept. It wasn't until a knock at the door, echoed through the room that she woke up. Her head felt heavy, this new long hair was going to be a pain and she knew it. "We are here to get the black witch ready." A maids voice came from the other side. But they knew better than to just walk in, especially since the King was in the room. Nora sat up rubbing her eyes trying to wake up more. She hadn't slept that well in a long time. A flash of memories flooded her mind of last night, and she was utterly embarrassed. Her face turned a slight red. What the hell was that? The way she acted last night only confused her, she had never been like that before. Even when she stood over the many people she had killed, Nora never shed a tear. Something's wrong with me. Swinging her legs over the side she stood and walked over to the window taking in the warmth of the sun. It felt nice, though she would be more relaxed if Fiero wasn't in the room. It was silent, Nora had no idea what to talk about or even if she wanted to talk to him at all. "What are we doing today?" She asked, tucking a piece of her new long hair behind her ear. It was only going to get in the way, but he wanted it so that she looked more…. presentable….
Fiero had gotten dressed in the early hours, long before Nora woke. He despised being bare around other people, finding it too trusting to let another person see him vulnerable in that way. Instead, he was reading again, a fat book on the theory of magic that he banished as soon as a knock sounded on his door. "Leave. I will tend o her today, I'm afraid we've left the room quite…" the pause was artificial, serving only to excite the gossipy maids. "… filthy. We don't require you today, attend to your other duties." There was a storm of quickly fading giggles behind the door, and then the maids were gone.
Fi turned to Nora with a sharp smile. "We'll be preparing you for court, darling. There's a gala tonight and you have the luck of being my date. I'm sure you feel blessed." His smile softened slightly and he slipped out of bed, gesturing for Nora to follow him through one of the mahogany doors and into a massive closet. It was full of everything from bedroom slippers to elaborate ball gowns. "But if you're asking about right now, we'll be picking an outfit for you—a gown. What do you have experience with wearing?"
Nora shot him a look when Fiero decided to fill the maids imagination with false information, now she'll have to fix all that later. "Oh yes… so blessed." Sarcasm slipped out her mouth followed by an eye roll. She followed closely behind. When the doors opened, usually girls would get all excited for the extravagant dresses, but this was something Nora dislikes. She'd rather wear pants and just a plain Tshirt. "I have no experience wearing anything like these." If she had to choose, she like to wear a black dress at least. "Am I choosing or are you?" She wanted to make sure, because if she was, it was definitely going to be black. There wasn't much that caught her eye, in fact she just wanted to leave. Running her fingers along all the dresses, Nora pretended to be interested, though he could probably see through her act since she wasn't trying too hard.
(https://pin.it/5LMrmNz https://pin.it/44hcZxs Here's a bit more of what she looks like just with purple eyes. And her with long hair.)
"Drop the snark, birdy. Appearance is everything, I can't have you walking around like some homeless vagrant." Fiero, unlike her, seemed genuinely interested in the dresses as he flipped through them, weighing fabrics and colors carefully before he moved on to the next selection. Black would be best against her pale skin, and dramatic enough to turn heads at the ball. Of all the people he'd invited, only he dressed in black. It would stir up conversation, get the nobility chatting about how exactly a concubine had managed to worm her way into the color only he was allowed to wear. "But I see you're inexperienced, so we'll stick to something simple. How much prodding will I need to do to get you into heels? And how well can you walk in them?"
"I've never worn heels before." She admitted, though her eyes were drawn more towards them than the dresses. "I wouldn't mind learning." Especially since the party was tonight, Nora felt she had a lot to learn in such little time. "What will you be wearing?" She moved from the shoes and back to the dresses, looking to see if maybe one stood out. "I also never learned to dance." A royalty party had dancing, or at least that's what she had been told before, but because she grew up in a forest inside a cave, there wasn't much she knew about the royal life. And being thrown into it so suddenly was overwhelming, especially to a stubborn, narcissistic King like him. He may be handsome, but he was difficult to deal with. As her thoughts ran wild she found a dress that she actually liked. Although it would show a lot of skin, Nora had no idea what to wear to a party, but she would love to wear this. And she had the body for it, turning head wouldn't be a problem, but for showing up in public for the first time in a long time, it might be too much. So she hung it back up and went back to looking.
(https://pin.it/44hcZxs I didn't really know how to describe it.)
"Got it." Fiero flicked his eyes away from more complicated gowns, watching Nora stumble through the collection and lighting up with a smile when she managed to find the perfect dress all on her own. Black, his color, with just enough gold and silver accents to show what an expensive investment she was. "I'll teach you how to wear them, and dancing's really not all that hard if you've got the balance for it, the same thing goes for heels actually," he was babbling slightly filling the time it would take for him to reach her. "Will you pick that dress back up?" He shuffled through the other outfits until he found it again, pulling it out and holding it up against Nora's body with an appraising eye. She'd be stunning. "What made you set it down? Too difficult to maneuver in?"
"No…" She looked away and crossed her arms. "I've never been to a party before, so I wasn't sure if showing that much skin was okay." Though she didn't really mind if she showed skin, it wasn't like she was hiding her body or anything. "Anyway, I'll do my best in the heels." Taking the dress from him, she found and grabbed just a random pair of shoes and went to the bathroom to change. It wasn't time for the party, but she wanted to get a feel for it and practice a bit. She left her hair down not wanting to do it at the moment. Her this body fit perfectly in the dress. Though she was the black witch, many guys were going to fell and she knew it. With a smile she walked out, ready to break some poor souls, plus the King wouldn't let any of them touch her either. Just watching them drool over her just to get crushed made her feel excited for the party. Surprisingly, Nora had no trouble walking in the heels. Maybe, just maybe she was cut out for this more than she first had thought. "Well…" She walked back into the closet, showing off her dress and heels. "How does it look?" Even though she didn't care much about his opinion, he was the King and she was being shown off as one of his concubines tonight, so she needs to make sure he approved. Nora felt amazing though. "Think I might be able to break a few hearts tonight?" The smile on her face was a bit twisted and malicious. Love was something she always dreamed of, but Nora had pretty much given up hope on that, who would want to be with the black witch? Well… besides those who want to use her, which is exactly what's happening now. But neither her or Fiero had feeling for each other, and she was going to make sure she never falls for him. It would only mean that he had won, and she wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of that.
Fiero watched her strut out looking like a queen and grinned. He'd doubted his choices last night, an uncommon occurrence, and spent hours agonizing over whether the black witch could really hold out in the cutthroat world of his courts. Seeing her like this, willing and able to crush a man's heart beneath her heel just for the fun of it, was just what he needed. Normally he'd try to demoralize her, plant nagging seeds of doubt in her head, but even he couldn't bear to try that when such a beautiful creature stood before him, as immovably beautifully violent as the sea during storm season. "You look like you're about to use a courtier's blood as your lipstick, darling. Why didn't you tell me you were a natural?" He circled her once, catlike, and gave her a final approving nod. "You'll be able to break anything you like in that dress, you look like a force of nature." He didn't know why so many compliments were spilling out of him but he didn't much care. Like this, she was so close to his first concubine, his Tivona, with her raven hair and knowing smile. She had been his match, so perfectly opposed to him, so perfectly painfully clever. She had died in the fire, of course. Along with anyone else. "But that's beside the point. You can walk fine, birdy, but how well can you dance?"
His compliments made her blush slightly and made her feel powerful. "Hm…" She held out her hand and smiled. "Not sure. Want to test?" Again her playfully wicked grin on her face. If she could, Nora would love to smash the Kings heart as well, but that's a more difficult challenge, one she wasn't sure she was ready for yet. She stood tall and proud, confident like nothing could bring her down, not even Fiero. Actually, she quite confident that she may be able to keep up during the dancing as well. Now, now she couldn't wait till tonight, she wanted to test this dress out now and crush someone under her feet. "Question, can I give this dress a test drive after this dance session?" She would most likely just use it on one of those servants, they seemed simple enough.
(Sorry this one is a bit shorter.)
Fiero kept his heart locked securely away, and though the wicked smile on her face sparked something inside him he batted it down and ignored her hand, grabbing her around the waist instead. He dipped her smoothly, setting her back on her feet with a flourish and a smirk. "Only if you can keep up with me in our little dance lesson, birdy." She was so proud now, such a far cry from the tears and softness from yesterday. He detested broken things, and yet there was something in the set of her shoulders that made him want to crush her into dust, to break her so thoroughly nobody else could ever use her again. Possessive, that was the feeling, and violent. He wanted her to be torn apart and he wanted her to be his. "Summon up some music, and we can begin."
(I'm loving their relationship. It's so interesting.)
With a quick snap, a slow steady song started to play out of thin air. "Will this do?" She walked back out into the bedroom and waited for him to join. "So, your saying if I can keep up with you, you'll allow me to crush one of your servants? What a great and caring king you are." Though that should have been sarcastic it wasn't, she was truly satisfied that he would give her permission to do so. Though Nora hated to admit it, Fiero wasn't as bad as he seemed, sure he was rude, forceful and a bit stubborn, but he didn't do anything truly evil and he was all that mean to her all the time. No Nora, don't start getting soft. She looked up at him and studied his face, he was extremely handsome, she wondered why he didn't have more women fell at his feet, but it could be because he didn't want that. Still he was very attractive.
"I'm known for many things, birdy." He followed her, taking her by the hand and spinning her through the doorway as they passed into the bedroom. "My compassion is not one of them. I know what they call me outside these walls." The viper king. The prince of poisoned tears. People didn't like him this time around, the way they hadn't liked him the last one. Reinventing himself was always so tiring when it had the same results in the end. People were so sensitive about his secrets, he'd never been able to wrap his head around it. Fortunately, dissenters were easily taken care of which, considering, may have been part of the reason people got so opposed to hi Violate free speech a few times and suddenly everyone acts like you're the villain. He laughed softly, brushing away the thoughts and striding up to Nora with a confident smile on his face. "You know the basic positions, yes? My hand on your hip and yours on my shoulder?"
"Yes," was all she answered with as she moved her hands to the right position. Nora hoped that she was a natural at dancing as she was in walking in heels. All the sudden nerves bubbled up, dancing was stressful and they haven't even started yet. Men were supposed to lead, she remembered her mother telling her that when she spoke of dancing. She waited till Fiero began to lead so that she could follow. Nora also knew you weren't supposed to look at your feet, so with confidence she looked Fiero in the eyes, ready for whatever was going to happen.
(It won't always be this short. I just wasn't sure of what to write.)
(I totally get it.)
Fi smiled back at her and then they were off. He had a firm hand, never losing control as he spun her this way and that. He moved with the kind of ease that only came with practice and the kind of rigid formality that proved he'd never done it outside of an official gala, but there was some sort of smile on his face as he dipped and tossed her. It was nice to leave Nora on such uncertain ground here, where he was the only one who knew what he was doing. There was something almost comforting about it. "You're good at being tossed around, but now I think it's time to let you lead, darling." He shifted, smoothing his hands up her sides before they came to rest on her shoulders. "Hands on my waist so you can spin me."
"Me lead? I thought the guys always led?" Nora now panicking moved her hands slowly down. It was clear on her face that she was nervous, she didn't know what his reaction would be if she messed up, but also if she didn't Fiero would probably get mad. So firmly she took his waist and did her best to spin him, he was much larger than her though, so it was difficult. After she was done she looked up at him, stone faced. She didn't want to show emotion until she saw his reaction. "Well… how was it?" The thought of having to dance with other people now had her head spinning with questions, what if she wasn't hood enough? What if she embarrassed herself? No, get a hold of yourself. gaining her confidence back she stood tall and smiled. Even if she did mess up, no one would dare go against the Kings black witch.
(Sorry, I got super busy with wedding stuff.)
(No problem, weddings come before everything else!!)
Fiero was graceful despite the clumsiness of Nora's hands and spun with ease. He was fairly light for a man, slender and tall instead of bulky, and while he certainly had more heft to his figure than his witch he was by no means well muscled. Such was the burden of devoting your time to study instead of training. Nora was giving him the most peculiar glare when he looked down at her so he smirked and brushed a loose strand of hair from her cheek. All that confidence had drained away when he pushed her out of her comfort zone. Good to know, so he noted it: not good with uncertainty, though she did her best to hide it. "The powerful lead, birdy. Gender has little to do with it, though I suppose explaining that to someone so out of touch as you is a lost cause. You're terrible, by the way. We have lots to practice if we want to get you where you need to be by tonight."
Nora placed her hand on her chin and looked to the floor. "Interesting, I guess those books I read were wrong." She took a mental note and looked back up. "How much practice do I need?" She wanted to be 100% ready for the party tonight. She didn't want to embarrass Fiero, because embarrassing him meant embarrassing herself. She was to act as a lover, so she didn't want anyone to look down on her… well, even if they did, she would probably do something about it, with the collar though it will be difficult. "How much time do I have?" She stepped away, sat on the bed, dancing was a lot harder than she thought. Nora was curious on how so many nobles could do parties like this often. Plus, even though she could easily walk in heels didn't mean they didn't hurt.
"Very." His country had always been rather atypical when it came to the structure of things. The firstborn child ruled the household, regardless of gender, and that tended to reshuffle the social structure. "You'll need… two hours, I should think. You can follow just fine, it's the leading where you lag behind." He grinned over at her, amused. "Fitting, I suppose, but you're not representing yourself anymore, so it will have to be trained out of you." As funny as it would be to watch her stumble around aimlessly, it would only serve to make him look like a fool. He needed the respect of the nobility if he was to finish this war—respect that would be hard to gain with the first consort any king had taken in centuries flopping around the dancefloor like a chicken with its head cut off. His revenge was so nearly complete, he only needed a few more years and then that wretched country would be eliminated and he could finally rest. Gods how he wanted to rest. "And we have that time. Hands on my waist again, birdy. Spin me slowly, toss me out and then reel me back in."
(Should we time skip to the party? Because I'm not sure what to write.)
(Should I start or should you?)
(I'm kinda busy all the time, but I can get one up if you'd like)
(That's okay. I've been busy as well. We'll just respond when we can :)
(sounds good, thanks for understanding)
The party was in full swing by the time Fiero arrived, slinking over to his throne so he could sit and survey the nobles. They dressed garishly, bright blues and purples and reds to show off the extravagance of these outfits that they'd never wear again once the night was through. Wasteful. Tasteless. One woman had sewn precious jewels into her flaring skirt so that they jolted out when she spun, reflecting shards of colored light across everyone's faces. She was laughing.
Fiero despised the entire wretched display. There was no fun in this, no matter how important it was to keep everyone happy and dancing. There was no joy in maneuvering around these people who sat like fat little lapdogs and nipped at his heels for scraps of attention. Parties drew out the worst his kingdom had to offer, with few of the people with whom it was a pleasure to go toe to toe. In the entire room, there may have been 5 people he respected, and that included himself and Nora. And speaking of his little witch…
"Birdy, darling, are you quite sure you're ready to dance? Last time you led you threw me into a wall."
Nora stood next to his throne and watched the people below her. She felt so powerful up here, but if she was in the Queens throne it would feel so much better. But it would be rude to sit there when she wasn't the Queen. Nora scanned the crowd for her victim, that was until Fiero interrupted her search. With a smile she turned to him, "Of course." Many people, Men and Women eyed her. The black dress showed off her slim figure, but she also had curves in the right places. Her long black hair was curled and pinned to one side. It could be because they have never seen the black witch in person or because of her beauty, either way, Nora didn't care.. she had most eyes on her, and she loved it. Though she did see a few jealous glares from women who wished to be in her place. Rolling her eyes she smiled, those girls wouldn't last an hour with the King, he would break them easily. "All these people trying to gain your favor, it must be tiring." As she talked to Fiero, there was one guy that caught her eye. Black hair that hung low in his eyes, a nice tux and the same unsatisfying look as the King. If she didn't know better, Nora would mistake him for the kings brother. One ear was pierced with a diamond stud. He was quite handsome. When he looked up they locked eyes, though Nora felt she should look away she didn't want to back down either. Who is that man?
