♕
It was becoming her kryptonite, her unbidden formality. It was so hard for the glass-boned girl to speak without titles, without curtsies, without the tenets of gilded mannerisms that Mother had instilled into her docile, snow-spotted daughter. Uncertainly blanketed her heart like a blizzard, her cerulean eyes carefully lowered as she curtsied to her gentle-hearted Sovereign.
“There’s no need for that. I will always simply be your partner for raiding the hallways of the Citadel in the early morning hours, first and foremost. That is the greatest honor.”
So Somnus was… alright with things staying the same between them? A crinkle of confusion passed like a shadow across her eyes — slowly, slowly, was Messalina coming to understand the warmth of camaraderie — but it was replaced by a bloom of happiness at his honesty, a relaxing of stiffened shoulders. She’d been fully expecting for a wall to rise between them, a natural accompaniment of what it meant to bear a crown upon one’s head. Yet for that to be as far from the truth as possible... she was flooded with an inexplicable sense of relief.
Somnus was as close to a true friend she'd dared to consider after her arrival in Dawn, and the noble man’s heartfelt confirmation eased a part of her thawing heart that'd desperately needed to know. “Your words mean… very much to me, Somnus,” she spoke, a smile as warm as the sun lining eyes of the softest blue as she discarded the title with a flourish.
“I only hope that I do not disappoint you all.”
“A king should not worry so much, so fresh as you are into your ascension. I do not give my praises lightly, you know,” she jested, a twinkle of humor bringing a quirk to her lips as all prior tension dissipated from Messa’s bones like vapor.
“That’s… Actually what I wish to discuss with you… I would be honored if you would stand as our Champion of Wisdom.”
That — had not been what she was expecting. For a moment, Messalina remained wide-eyed and still as a doll as Somnus' words echoed in her mind. Her gaze drifted momentarily to the equally stunned audience that had gathered around them like stoic sentinels; yet she’d never paid much attention to the Court's haughty aristocrats, and now was not the time to start.
With a dip of satin curls, she gazed deeply into those noble eyes of the deepest emerald green. She was surprised, of course, and without a doubt anxious at being entrusted a responsibility as large as this. But Messalina’s resolve was solidified. Her King and steadfast friend trusted her as no one ever had before, and that in itself was the greatest honor she could dream of.
“If you are our King, Somnus, then there is no doubt in my heart when I say that I shall be your Champion of Wisdom. You have my loyalty, and I will give my all to uphold the tenets of knowledge that form the heart of our fair kingdom.”
@Somnus | "speaks" | notes: <3
