choking on the smoke from the fire you've started
choking on the ash form the bridges you've burned
choking on the ash form the bridges you've burned
So much had happened very quickly.
Israfel was not accustomed to the intricacies of court. She was a demi-goddess, half-god, but never had she been classified as royalty. The closest she had ever reached before had been the years she had served as Regent of the Dusk Court. She did not know the way of politics, or social graces, or ‘formal affairs’, but nothing could have prepared her for the way the attendants of the citadel would dote upon her like swarming flies.
’Is there anything you need, Your Majesty?’ One would ask after dipping into her new study, and Israfel would shake her head and send them away so she could focus on her work.
’I brought tea, Highness.’ Even though Israfel didn’t drink tea unless forced, much preferring its bitter cousin coffee, she accepted it with a smile. A single sip left her displeased, however, that it tasted nothing like the cups provided by Luvena, and her heart ached. The cup of tea was then left untouched.
’Solaris has returned from her trip. She brings tidings from Solterra.’ The return letter had been an equally arrogant, cocksure one that had wrought an amused grin to rose-kissed lips, and she penned out a reply. It seemed that the new Sovereign of Solterra had a sense of humor. Isra made a mental note that she would need to meet him, face to face, and hopefully soon.
’My Queen? I’ve brought…’ And on it went.
It left her nerves frayed and her patience lacking, and it took every inch of self-restraint she had left to not snap at the poor servant girl who had simply come in to change the linens. Isra was private, by nature, but she couldn’t help to wonder if this was simply because Denocte had been so damn quiet and the staff were desperate to finally have something to do, or if it was always like this.
Regardless, the first second that she could get away from any courtly duties, Isra snuck out of the Court citadel and slunk into the courtyard. She had an appointment to keep, if the summoned individual actually showed up, and that was all the excuse she needed to get away from the buzzing antics of the ladies-in-waiting and the other members of the court.
Caelum arrived with all of the dignity and grace she had displayed at the meeting. A shorter thing, yet not the shortest she had seen in Novus (here, an image of the twins, Ard and Erd, pops into her mind and her heart aches for her pseudo-nephews as well), but what she lacks in height, it is abundantly clear that Caelum makes up for in wit, ambition, and heart.
Israfel smiles, cocking a brow, and lifts her head as Caelum addresses her, formal and polite with an eloquence that the Sun Daughter herself will probably never be able to learn to emulate. That was fine. She wasn’t here to pretend to be something she wasn’t.
“Caelum,” she greeted fondly, knowing how highly Luvena spoke of this fae lady. Thinking of Lu, here and now, made her heart ache again and she yearned to be back in the clinic, hidden away from the world with the other woman at her side. “Just call me ‘Isra’, yeah? Or Israfel. Whichever you prefer.”
Silence lingered between them, and Israfel found herself uncertain how to broach the reasoning of the summons. Turning her head slightly, vermilion eyes glanced about the gardens nearby and she gave Caelum a curious look. “Care to take a walk with me?” And with that, she turned, already expecting the fae-like mare to follow.
They fell into step, slipping into the gardens tended to by delicate, capable minds. The blooms of the flowers were beautiful, even though they were in the midst of a hot, cruel summer, but Israfel took a few moments to admire the blooms before continuing on. “Luvena speaks of you,” she began, picking her words carefully, wondering how the fuck she was supposed to do this, “Briefly, of course. She mentioned that you’re friends, and that you help her gather supplies.” Israfel glanced sidelong towards her traveling companion, vermilion eyes glittering in mirth. “When you spoke up in the meeting, I understood why you two are good friends. I wanted to thank you, first, for speaking up at the meeting, for being so prepared to defend Denocte and her citizens. You are not the only one who has found sanctuary here, who has found a second chance.”
