His eyes are filled with judgment
And his heart is filled with pain
***
And his heart is filled with pain
***
As Raymond entered the throne room, he did indeed expect to see Florentine waiting for him. The sight of Asterion in her place was sufficient to give him pause, lingering briefly in mid-stride before he committed himself to seeing how the cards would fall and continued on apace.
I have to disappoint you.
A knot of disquiet settled itself in his chest. His brow furrowed with stormy consternation that only grew with the star-marked stallion's lengthy silence, and he offered nothing of his own to fill the void. It was not until Asterion spoke again that Raymond released the tension wracking his body like the coils of a constrictor snake, letting his head roll back with a swallowed sigh before collecting himself.
Was Asterion toying with him? Doubtful, he thought; the bay had developed a certain caliber of disdain for him since he had severed ties with dusk court, but Raymond didn't think such a change of heart included a stark shift in character as well. Raymond pursed his lips.
"Look," he said as soon as Asterion quit talking, his voice clipped and joyless, "as much as I'd love to hear about what you think I did to your sister, I'm here because Isra asked me to be. Because her people need her guidance more than my fighting skills right now, and we both agreed that peace couldn't wait any longer than it already has." Perhaps he was not so worn thin as the new dusk sovereign, but being caught off-balance allowed a thread of deeply-embedded weariness - the kind that even a good vacation couldn't cure - to seep into the undertones of his words.
"I won't pretend to know what all transpired between the kingdoms before those gates closed, but Florentine's injuries? Those are the result of a tragic accident, and I can tell you in no uncertain terms that the one has absolutely nothing to do with the other. My involvement began and ended with trying to keep her alive."
In fact, knowing how fast and loose the flower maiden liked to play with her rift magic, his shifting associations likely meant only that it'd taken him longer to reach the hospital. Ruth would have come back sooner or later once the rift had been stirred to awareness. The red stallion loathed the thought of having to explain as much, suspecting that even that would not be enough to override Asterion's preconceptions. He wouldn't have said as much as he had already if not for the importance of Isra's request and the necessity of civility in such affairs.
A long pause. Raymond filled the silence with an unwavering stare as he worked his jaw briefly upon nothing.
"So, before I move on to my Queen's business, is peace still possible between Dusk and Night?" Or would saying anything more be a waste of his breath?
I have to disappoint you.
A knot of disquiet settled itself in his chest. His brow furrowed with stormy consternation that only grew with the star-marked stallion's lengthy silence, and he offered nothing of his own to fill the void. It was not until Asterion spoke again that Raymond released the tension wracking his body like the coils of a constrictor snake, letting his head roll back with a swallowed sigh before collecting himself.
Was Asterion toying with him? Doubtful, he thought; the bay had developed a certain caliber of disdain for him since he had severed ties with dusk court, but Raymond didn't think such a change of heart included a stark shift in character as well. Raymond pursed his lips.
"Look," he said as soon as Asterion quit talking, his voice clipped and joyless, "as much as I'd love to hear about what you think I did to your sister, I'm here because Isra asked me to be. Because her people need her guidance more than my fighting skills right now, and we both agreed that peace couldn't wait any longer than it already has." Perhaps he was not so worn thin as the new dusk sovereign, but being caught off-balance allowed a thread of deeply-embedded weariness - the kind that even a good vacation couldn't cure - to seep into the undertones of his words.
"I won't pretend to know what all transpired between the kingdoms before those gates closed, but Florentine's injuries? Those are the result of a tragic accident, and I can tell you in no uncertain terms that the one has absolutely nothing to do with the other. My involvement began and ended with trying to keep her alive."
In fact, knowing how fast and loose the flower maiden liked to play with her rift magic, his shifting associations likely meant only that it'd taken him longer to reach the hospital. Ruth would have come back sooner or later once the rift had been stirred to awareness. The red stallion loathed the thought of having to explain as much, suspecting that even that would not be enough to override Asterion's preconceptions. He wouldn't have said as much as he had already if not for the importance of Isra's request and the necessity of civility in such affairs.
A long pause. Raymond filled the silence with an unwavering stare as he worked his jaw briefly upon nothing.
"So, before I move on to my Queen's business, is peace still possible between Dusk and Night?" Or would saying anything more be a waste of his breath?
***
Raymond
Who is there to stand against the rider on the range?
Raymond
Who is there to stand against the rider on the range?
@Asterion
aut viam inveniam aut faciam
