But for what!? Why? What did she have to take revenge for? Did she think up three stock answers and just stick to them for the whole conversation? "But for what!? What did I do?" He sounded genuinely serious, rather than angry or even irritated. Most of the anger he felt inside had already waned, giving way to a tired resignation. Those notes were never coming back, so why start a fight over them?
"And thus marks the end of this boring discussion." Aria said, going back to her book. She mouthed the words as she read them, slowly going over each letter.
Ru sighed in exasperation. If she was going to be petty then so was he. After tonight all the books for ages 20 and under were getting removed. The town down the road would probably appreciate them greatly. They had been petitioning for a library for years and this one was huge. "How is Peter Pan, by the way?"
"Eternally young." Ariana said.
"Fun. I meant the book itself." Ru shrugged, walking back into his bedroom where he struggled to salvage his noted. Eventually, he just gave up, tossing the whole soggy mess into the trash where they belonged. All that work wasted, and for what? Petty revenge?
"Hmm." Aria mumbled, going back to her reading. Eventually, the words got too hard for her, and she threw the book at the wall in rage. Ariana stormed out of the room, she wanted, needed to be alone.
Once he had officially given up on his work, Ru called some servants and visited the library with them. He ordered them to pick up all the books for younger people. This might've been a bit petty, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Ariana burnt his notes, he got rid of her books. There were surprisingly few books for the age bracket, so they were finished within the hour. One of the servants was sent into town with the books.
Aria went to the bedroom and flopped down into the mattress. She just wanted to sleep her depression away, and also, she was bored and didn't have much else to do, since killing people for entertainment was apparently illegal.
Ru dusted off his hands. What to do now? He didn't have anything to write in since his notebook was torched. Reading could be fun, but there wasn't much fiction left in the library. Maybe he could brush up on his law? It all seemed like such a drag. Going to bed early was pretty much the only option that sounded okay. He walked into his room and groaned when he remembered he and Ariana shared it.
"Hello, darling." she said, but not sarcastically. In fact, there was almost a sort of sincerity to her tone.
Ru had readied an overdramatic eyeroll, one he quickly put away when he heard some kind of sincerity in her tone. Instead of answering he just collapsed on the bed and groaned. "There's nothing to dooooo."
"I'm sorry. About…. you know. The thing." she said, entirely honest.
Ru looked up at Ariana from his place on the bed. "You mean burning years upon years of policies and laws? Because I don't think sorry is going to make up for that."
"Well, it's a start. I hope." she sighed.
"Can your species turn back time? Is that one of your powers?" Ru shoved his head back into the bed. It wasn't a big deal and he knew that. So why was it getting under his skin so bad? Was it because he thought Ariana was getting closer to him and then she burnt something she knew was important to him for something he didn't know he'd done? He laughed a little. Way to get overly specific and completely correct, brain.
"No, sorry. But I could murder an innocent if you want?" she offered, scooting closer.
Oh fuck. Was Ariana being serious? This could've been some kind of serious sounding teasing, but Ru felt the need to reassure her that he would actually hate that. People didn't just do that to please their spouses. "No! No. Don't do that. Why do you think I want you to do that?"
"Oh, you're no fun." she grumbled. After a moment's pause, her tone became serious again. "But I really am sorry. I know, years of work, but I truly hope you can find forgiveness for me and my actions."
Ru sighed. Apologies really weren't enough but getting closer to his wife was more important than any amount of ink on paper. Maybe he could offer another way for Ariana to make it up to him. He had been having some pretty terrible tightness in his neck and shoulders. A massage would be nice. "It's fine. If you really want to make it up to me, I have something in mind."
"And what would that be?" she asked.
"Can you give me a massage? I've been having some really bad neck pains and… well, I haven't been the happiest lately. They usually make me feel better, emotionally and physically." Plus, letting Ariana touch him could help inspire trust. They could bond.
"Hmm. Fine." Ariana began to rub his shoulders. She was actually pretty good at giving massages, Rosanna had made sure she was. Actually, Rosie had taught Aria almost everything she knew. If only she had taught her how to read. But grammar probably wasn't involved with sparring lessons. "Is that okay?" she asked. She really hoped so. She was doing it how she remembered Rosanna liking it best.
"Do it firmly, but don't cut off my circulation, dearest." the blond haired, grey eyed woman said. Aria did as she was told, although it took a few tries to get it perfect. Rosie suddenly grabbed Aria's hand, not roughly, but it took the other by surprise. She gave it a little peck, her lips gently brushing the skin of Ariana's palm. Aria giggled, and went back to rubbing her partner's shoulders. Sparring matches did take a lot out of you. After a few minute, Aria said, "Okay, my turn now." with a grin. Rosie smiled in return, and complied.
"I'm not really the best at this, a little out of practice. Tell me if I'm doing it wrong." Ariana said, shaking away the memory. It has been bad enough her brother had found them out, but when he snitched to her parents… well, that's how she got stuck in this hellish marriage, after all. "Are you sure you can forgive me for, well, you know." she asked.
Ru relaxed into the bed, humming when Ariana hit a spot that was particularly sore. She was being strangely gentle, and it was strange and nice to see this new side of her, but he preferred harsher massages. "Harder. Here." He took one of Ariana's hands and pulled it up to the top knob of his spine. Most of the tension was still brewing in the muscles around there.
"Right. Harder. I see." she said, and began to rub even more firmly into Cerulean's shoulders.
Ru all but melted into the bed, letting out a breathy sigh. That was perfect. Better than perfect. If there was a heaven, Ariana was there handing out free massages. "Yesss," He hissed. The tension in his shoulders was slowly but steadily soothed into oblivion.
Ariana, as to get better access to Cerulean's shoulders, slowly peeled off his shirt, and sat down close by, moving her hands up and down his back in slow, rhythmic motions. "I'm glad you enjoy it. So, when this honeymoon is over and we get back to your castle, what then, might I ask?" she said.
Happy shivers wracked Ru's body as Ariana worked his back. Occasionally he'd hiss or groan when she hit a spot that was particularly tense, but for the most part, he stayed quiet, trying to figure out how to integrate Ariana into his life. "You'll meet my mother, and then start getting trained about your duties as queen. Of course, we'll be prince and princess for a while, so you won't need to do much actual ruling until Mom dies or steps down."
"Fantastic." she said. The sun was setting, it was getting pretty late. "Dearest, shall we rest now? Given that it's literally getting later as we speak, and either way, my little constitutional in the woods didn't do much for my levels of energy."
(I'm leaving for a while. TTYL)
Oh shit. That. Ru flipped onto his stomach, pleasant buzz dying when he noticed that Ariana's arm was still covered in dried blood. That couldn't feel pleasant. "Is your arm okay?"
"Yes, fine. It was a little chilly outside, though." she said calmly.
(Bye!)
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