like the holding of hands like the breaking of glass
Y
ou awaken to the sound of birds beginning a morning song. their voices are soft on the breeze that comes through your window, open just a crack to let in the fresh air. you see the first smoldering rays lighten the room. oriens begins to paint his fingers across the sky, turning midnight blue and orange; the frosty signs of winter crawling in. for a moment, blinking back your sleepy tears, you feel at peace.
it does not last long.
there is a flurry of feathers and blanket as you fumble from your bed, landing swiftly onto the floor to stretch both wings and legs. a yawn escapes as you trot to the door, giving the room one last passing glance before sliding into the hallway. most of court is still asleep at this hour. only the servants and the guards are awake just barely, most still foggy from their night’s sleep. this is the perfect time for you to escape; to slip past the sentinels making their changes.
you preferred wandering the halls yourself, hoping to find something new and exciting. searching for trouble wherever you could. perhaps even listening for gossip about the murders. despite how terrified you truly were about the idea of a monster running lose, it was rivaled only by your curiosity to see a creature that could manage such horrors. so from shadow to shadow you lingered, hiding behind corners and nooks in your excursion for gossip.
@ tag | "speaks" | notes: please excuse me being so rusty, my writing is terrible now D':
Silently she fluttered on behind the pale princess, keen black eyes watching the yearling duck and dodge within the citadel shadows as though not to be seen. Where was she going? What was she doing?
Alba had not been sleeping when Anemone had snuck away from her bed, and the barn owl had immediately abandoned her perch to follow. With Tabbris and Milo keeping a close eye on Regis, Alba knew that she would not be missed or needed. Right now the young prince was safely tucked away into his bed, and with a straying Anemone on the loose, she knew that her efforts were currently better suited elsewhere, being nocturnal and all.
Following the wayward yearling in ethereal silence, Alba glided stealthily through the empty halls. It was only after she had found a perch upon a window sill did she let out a few loud pops! with her beak towards the wandering Anemone.
’Pop! Pop!’
Then, through her mind, she reached out to Somnus. While loathing to disturb him from his rest, he needed to be aware of what was happening.
’Somnus. Your daughter is at it again.’
Within their bed, Somnus stirred. Verdant eyes slowly fluttered open, glancing about the room with noticeable lethargy and quite clearly half asleep. It was only the mental nudging from Alba that caused him to shake off the lingering drestiges of sleep, an incessant poking that prodded the back of his skull. Turning his head, the dunalino regarded Eulalie for a brief moment before leaning over to press a kiss upon her cheek. Then, with a remarkable amount of grace given his large size, he heaved himself up and out of their bed to stand upright.
A small stretch was satisfyingly rewarded with a number of cracks from his neck and spine, and Somnus let out a long, slow breath. The chill of the autumn evening was unwanted, but as much as he wanted to return to Eulalie’s warmth and cuddle close to her, Alba’s wonderful little reminder in the back of his skull caused him to move.
’Hurry up, Somnus.’
Ducking out of their quarters with one last glance, the Dawn King took to the silent, dark hallways of the citadel in search for his wayward daughter, his golden coat catching gleams of moonlight through every window he passed. It was easy to track her. All he had to do was feel for whichever way Alba went. Along his journey, the hallways stood empty and barren save for the few passing guards on a nightly patrol. To each one, Somnus offered a nod and a tired smile. Goodness, but he was tired… It was late. Quite possibly the middle of the night. So why was Anemone out wandering at this hour?
Rounding the hall, he spotted her; a pale mar of light golden hairs standing out amidst the encompassing shadows of the stone hall. Somnus arched a brow and cleared his throat.
“And what, pray tell, might you be doing up at this hour?”
He wasn’t angry. Not really. There was even a faint trace of a smile on his dark lips, masked by concern and fatigue as it might be. It was only natural and honestly, having Anemone sneak around wasn’t unheard of… Yet with the recent deaths of Moore and Casper, he was on high alert. They all were.
like the holding of hands like the breaking of glass
S
he turns a corner, the white tip of her wing gliding over the rough stone with a certain familiarity. she has done this a thousand times, walked these halls for miles and miles. she has memorized every hallway and every guard’s patrol, everything needed to navigate without being seen. and yet, she still couldn’t manage getting away unscathed.
pop! pop!
she digs her heels into the floor, stopping short at the chastisement, before stealing a glance upwards at the moon-faced owl. “alba!” she squeaks. “alba, please.” anemone should know better than to implore with her father’s bonded. she was, after all, trying to protect the girl from any trouble she would be bound to get herself into. still, the bird sure knew how to ruin some fun.
it doesn’t take long to hear footsteps in the distance. clip, clop. she can see the grumbling outline of the dawn king just down the hall. clip, clop. she know it would only be a matter of time before he found her. clip, clop. she can almost hear the disappointment in each tired step. clip, clop. instead of facing him, as any good princess would, she dives into the darkness of a corner and presses herself flat against the wall in a last-ditch effort to hide.
“and what, pray tell, might you be doing up at this hour?”
at least she has the sense to look sheepish as she emerges from her hiding spot.
“well… i… uhh…” she stammers, “i wanted to pick some flowers for mum.” anyone who did not know the dawn princess could very well would accept it as a genuine answer. she, however, knew her father would see right through it.
she happily skips to his side, forcing herself underneath the crook of his wing (so that they are standing flank to flank, pressed together in a hug) before she hums happily: “do youuuu…. know if the library has some books on growing flowers?” cue the innocent eyelash fluttering.
@Somnus | "speaks" | notes: i'm so sorry for the sudden writing style change, i'm trying to find a groove for her that works
By now, Somnus was well accustomed to his daughter’s innocent charm and persuasive charisma. The flutter of her long lashes and large, round baby-blue eyes no longer held the sway over him as they once had when he had been a new -and inexperienced- father. The dunalino stallion only arched a brow as Anemone came out of hiding, at least having the decency to appear sheepish for being caught wandering the halls way past her bedtime.
“I was unaware that flowers grew in the citadel hallways, dear heart,” Somnus murmured softly, brows still raised but appearing terribly entertained by his daughter’s antics, if the mirthful look shining in his eyes was anything to go by. “And what did I tell you about lying, hm? It is hardly becoming.” She was alright. Nothing had harmed her. Whatever threat lurked within Delumine held no conviction here, no power, and so long as she remained in these halls, nothing would happen to Anemone. Outside, however…
Unbidden, Somnus turned his head to stare momentarily out the nearest window. The moon shone bright, and the night appeared peaceful. He knew better. The vivid imagery of Moore and Casper’s bloody corpses lurked in a devastating place in his mind, and it was all too easy to imagine Anemone’s frail, petite frame in a pile of gristle and gore instead. What would he have done, if that had been the reality?
Involuntarily, he shuddered. Immediately he was drawn back to reality, however, as Anemone very pointedly pressed herself up and under his wing so that they were flank to flank, and with a warm, grateful chuckle, Somnus leaned over enough so that he could lip playfully at his daughter’s growing forelock. Every day, Anemone and Regis were ever closer to becoming adults, and the precious moments like these were the ones that the Dawn King knew he had to cherish.
“Lucky for you, dearest, I know for a fact that the library does indeed have books on growing flowers. A plethora, actually.” One last lip at Anemone’s pale hair and Somnus straightened up with a roll of a shoulder, but he let his large wing drape across his daughter’s smaller frame. With a gentle tug, he pulled her closer, and leaned down once more to whisper conspiratorial into her ear. “Although I do wonder why this question could not have waited until dawn… But since we are both awake now, perhaps you would be so kind as to accompany your father on a stroll.”
He didn’t want to go back to bed. Not yet. Keeping his wing draped across Anemone’s pale golden body, he steered her on down the hallway. “You know, your uncle Po could grow flowers for you. He knows all there is to know about gardening and the sort.”
like the holding of hands like the breaking of glass
I
was unaware that flowers grew in the citadel hallways, dear heart, she winces slightly at his tone, though she takes care to hide it from her father as best as she can. And what did I tell you about lying, hm? It is hardly becoming. ”Oh! But I wasn’t lying, papa. I really was going to get flowers. I just had to leave the room first so I wouldn’t wake up Reggie going out the window.” Most princesses would not be inclined to share so much of the truth when they were getting scolded. She, however, would hide nothing from her parents.
”Well, I wanted to see if I could find some flowers outside. Like a grown one, just to let mama know that everything’s going to be okay, ya know?” She smiles happily, pressing her horn against the flat of her father’s broad neck, nestling into the folds of his wings. ”Everything’s going to be okay because it’s growing back.” She steadies her step with his, assuming that they were weaving their way to the library, and hums along with each step.
”I know Uncle Po can grow flowers for me… but… I wanted to grow some for myself too.” The admittance of her secret feels scary somehow. Somnus could tell her she was silly, as most people often did. He could laugh and pretend this was another joke, or that she was being frivolous with her time. She could be studying more important things, surely.
Instead she says: ”I want to build a greenhouse inside. I had to get up early to scout out the best spot.”
He held his tongue, allowing her to take as much time as she needed to find her words and speak. Anemone had always been headstrong and impulsive since the day that the twins were born, quick to act and prone to aimless wandering. It’s simply how she was, and Somnus certainly had no desire to quell or douse such a passionate, curious trait. He could never be so cruel. One day that analytical mind might serve her well in whatever path she so desired to have, and he knew that to help her succeed in life he and Eulalie would need to cultivate that naturally inquisitive nature and let it blossom. The Dawn King did not doubt the beautiful flower that Anemone could become.
The more that he listened, the more that he found himself touched by Anemone’s thoughtfulness. Clearly she understood that wandering around the Citadel hallways past bedtime was frowned upon, but, well… Could he truly fault her? He had been young once, foolish and oblivious to many of the cruel evils of the world. If all she had wanted was a single flower to help brighten Eulalie’s spirits, who was he to stop her?
“Dear heart…” Somnus began, his tone an immediate tell that Anemone’s charm and innocence had swayed him. His heart melted beneath the adorable visage that she presented, with her wide blinking eyes and the way her rosey-gold body snuggled into his side beneath the ventral down of his wings. Oh, but she had him wrapped so very tightly around her little hoof, tied off with a bow. “Very well. Come. I’ll take you to fetch a flower bouquet for your mother. I imagine she would quite enjoy waking to it in the morning.”
Ushering his precious daughter along through the empty, silent hallways, Somnus did not have to look to know that Alba was following, trusting her to keep an extra watch out as they meandered. The barn owl was a soundless shadow, gliding through the air at their backs without a single noise as her breed were so capable of doing.
Keeping Anemone tucked beneath the protective embrace of his wing, father and daughter strolled through the hallways until they reached the large double doors leading out of the Citadel itself. The night watchmen gave them each a nod and a small smile before opening the doors for King and Princess to step through, and soon enough they were bathed in the evening light. Somnus paused once they were outside, breathing in deep and letting the cool night air rest comfortably within his lungs. There was something terribly alluring about the mystery of nightfall, but it had never truly been his most comfortable of aesthetics.
Verdant eyes turned to focus once more on his daughter, and with a gentle sweep, he guided her forward with a press of his wing to her rump. “Lead on, my noble princess. I do not think that Po would mind us borrowing a few of his blooms for your mother.” Knowing Ipomoea, he would be quite humbled and flattered. As their hooves scraped against the cobblestone, heading towards the Regent’s beautiful gardens and hedges, Somnus spoke once more. “Anemone? Why did you not tell us sooner that you desired a greenhouse? With a bit of work, I believe we could fashion one… But it might take some time and supplies.” Nevermind supplies they probably didn’t have, but once more Somnus could not find it within his heart to douse her hope and desires.
"Is that something that you wish to do? Garden and tend to the flowers like your Uncle Po?"
