MESSALINA
She needed to find him. But where was he?
Sighing, Messalina blew a strand of ice-blonde hair from her eyes (how had it escaped from her carefully woven plaits already?) as she pondered the places the newly ascended Regent would go.
Somewhere well secluded, perhaps? She suspected that Ipomoea would seek the quiet after it all – the moment the meeting had adjourned, the new regime had been swarmed by a mob of eager citizens and fussy nobles alike, all vying for a chance to voice the thoughts they hadn’t already expressed.
She, on the other hand, had kept to the fringes of the jostling crowd as always. Fighting for an audience with the Sovereign and his Regent was a battle she’d wished to avoid. Though Messa was far from meek – 'submissive' was not a quality Mother had thought favorable, ironically – the slender dancer was soft spoken by nature and much preferred to keep her nose out of troubling affairs.
And as it turned out, she hadn’t needed to. For Somnus had come to her.
Even now, Messalina still found herself wondering whether the encounter had even happened. To say that she was shocked when the emerald-eyed King had offered her a position as Champion of Wisdom, his voice just as lilting as she remembered, would be a drastic understatement. After an unbecoming moment of silence, the pale-haired girl had recovered enough to accept the Sovereign's proposition with a smile and a graceful curtsy – what horrid manners to keep a King waiting – but in truth, her mind was reeling. Why her, and not one of the many accomplished sages who called Delumine’s libraries home?
She still could not make sense of it at all. And it was that very confusion that brought her thoughts full-circle, back to her original purpose – seeking out the flower-wreathed Regent. Besides congratulating him on his ascension, perhaps he would know what to make of her new role.
The citadel was eerily empty. Most of its inhabitants were still in the willow-shaded courtyard, no doubt offering their gushing congratulations as they attempted to sway Somnus into appointing them a position at court. Messa’s admiration of her king’s bottomless patience grew by the hour.
Down she walked, corridor after empty corridor. Her neck was beginning to stiffen from peeking into every room she passed.“But hopefully I will find him,” she sighed, cerulean eyes roving over every shadowy corner with haste, “before someone else reaches him first.”
Stimulated by a renewed sense of urgency, a sudden realization hit her square in the head. The one place she hadn't checked: the gardens. It was at the other end of the castle, and she wanted to pinch herself for not thinking of it sooner. If there was any place the Regent would go to for a moment of peace, it would be among the flowers he cherished so much.
Swiftly, she broke into a trot (no one was here to see) as she wound her way to the sprawling gardens nestled along the back of the castle grounds. She burst through the heavy iron gates wholly out of breath, strands of ivory curls flying like silk ribbons in the breeze.
Yet before she could catch her breath, a rare laugh bubbled from smiling lips when she found him there, among the roses.
“Ipomoea!" Cerulean eyes settled softly into pools of gentle carmine. Like they were home. "I've found you."
Sighing, Messalina blew a strand of ice-blonde hair from her eyes (how had it escaped from her carefully woven plaits already?) as she pondered the places the newly ascended Regent would go.
Somewhere well secluded, perhaps? She suspected that Ipomoea would seek the quiet after it all – the moment the meeting had adjourned, the new regime had been swarmed by a mob of eager citizens and fussy nobles alike, all vying for a chance to voice the thoughts they hadn’t already expressed.
She, on the other hand, had kept to the fringes of the jostling crowd as always. Fighting for an audience with the Sovereign and his Regent was a battle she’d wished to avoid. Though Messa was far from meek – 'submissive' was not a quality Mother had thought favorable, ironically – the slender dancer was soft spoken by nature and much preferred to keep her nose out of troubling affairs.
And as it turned out, she hadn’t needed to. For Somnus had come to her.
Even now, Messalina still found herself wondering whether the encounter had even happened. To say that she was shocked when the emerald-eyed King had offered her a position as Champion of Wisdom, his voice just as lilting as she remembered, would be a drastic understatement. After an unbecoming moment of silence, the pale-haired girl had recovered enough to accept the Sovereign's proposition with a smile and a graceful curtsy – what horrid manners to keep a King waiting – but in truth, her mind was reeling. Why her, and not one of the many accomplished sages who called Delumine’s libraries home?
She still could not make sense of it at all. And it was that very confusion that brought her thoughts full-circle, back to her original purpose – seeking out the flower-wreathed Regent. Besides congratulating him on his ascension, perhaps he would know what to make of her new role.
The citadel was eerily empty. Most of its inhabitants were still in the willow-shaded courtyard, no doubt offering their gushing congratulations as they attempted to sway Somnus into appointing them a position at court. Messa’s admiration of her king’s bottomless patience grew by the hour.
Down she walked, corridor after empty corridor. Her neck was beginning to stiffen from peeking into every room she passed.
Stimulated by a renewed sense of urgency, a sudden realization hit her square in the head. The one place she hadn't checked: the gardens. It was at the other end of the castle, and she wanted to pinch herself for not thinking of it sooner. If there was any place the Regent would go to for a moment of peace, it would be among the flowers he cherished so much.
Swiftly, she broke into a trot (no one was here to see) as she wound her way to the sprawling gardens nestled along the back of the castle grounds. She burst through the heavy iron gates wholly out of breath, strands of ivory curls flying like silk ribbons in the breeze.
Yet before she could catch her breath, a rare laugh bubbled from smiling lips when she found him there, among the roses.
eyes so blue,
I drown.
I drown.
@Ipomoea
observe messa's 180 degree change in personality around po ;D
observe messa's 180 degree change in personality around po ;D
