[P] eventide and bejeweled sky

[Antiope]

Antiope takes the offered money from Castalla without argument, but a simple nod of her head. Although she had intended the good to be her treat, she would never question someone’s values and if this woman wished to pay her part, then the Regent would allow her to.

It had been strange, getting used to court life, when Antiope had first come to Novus. She had been so accustomed to jungle living, in the wooden homes that were built among the trees. They had grown or gathered much of their food, and rather than drinking elaborate teas and coffees from fine china they had muddled herbs and fruits into water. It had been simpler, certainly, but no less enjoyable.

To tell the truth, these rolls reminded her greatly of the breads and other baked goods they often shared in back then. They would gather at a huge table on the forest floor and eat all meals they managed to catch together. They were good memories, among long stretches of weeks and months out on the battlefield where the had scarce little to enjoy at all.

“I’m glad to hear Denocte and her people have been kind to you,” Antiope says, with sincerity. When she had first arrived, the other passengers on the ship had been wary of her but nobody in the court itself has ever looked twice at her, regardless of the exoticness, the otherness, about her, nor the axe she constantly wears strapped to her shoulder. Once nothing more than a stranger, now she is their Regent, a leader, a protector. How quickly the tides do shift.

It is curious, how much her thoughts echo the moment at hand, for their conversation quickly turns from simply pleasantries to much more. Antiope’s sapphire eyes sharpen keenly, meeting Castalla’s own—chips of ice, with a swirling ocean underneath. “The Night Court has finally found peace, after the man that threatened the life of our Queen has died,” she says, as if to dismiss the woman’s suggestion.

But she is not a fool, and knows there will always be another Raum. There will always be more gods stepping down from their pedestals to show mere mortals how much stronger they are. Antiope turns her head, glancing at the few equines that pass them on the street. These are her people now, just as the horses in the jungle had once been.

It is her duty to ensure they will always be safe. “But,” if there is a sharpness to her smile, like a tiger prowling through the underbrush, perhaps it is just a trick of the fading light, “there is a place for everyone in the court of midnight and stars, if you choose to stay with us.” A suggestion, or a promise of the future? Her eyes give away little. Antiope may have vowed to lay down her weapons, but she would still do whatever it takes to keep her court safe.

"Speaking."

∞ | @Castalla