Luvena
She showed little to no reaction to his reveal. He was not the first former king she had met. He surely would not be the last. Not to mention, she herself had once ruled a land. Twice in fact. Once as its princess and once as its queen. She had met so many at this point in her life in fact that sometimes it was more surprising to her that in Novus, few had held that role.
“Stop rolling your words in honey and sugar” she replied, her own voice crisper than usual. But never losing its gentle edge. “You are choosing duty over love, and I respect that. I nearly did the same thing as a queen myself. But don’t speak to me as if I’m a babe to be cradled. Truthfully, I think we both knew this wasn’t going to work either way. We both have too many losses behind us. I cannot let go of my children and my past. Nor can you.” she bit back the rest of what she was thinking, not wanting to hurt the man who had showed her nothing but kindness. She knew he thought he could fix her, that if he could just find the right cure. Luvena couldn’t handle being put through that again, not after all these years of living this way.
She had let her own past as a queen roll off her tongue casually. It had been so long ago now that she wasn’t sure if it had really happened. She knew what juggling duty and love meant. For her, it had resulted in a kingdom being turned to ashes. She smiled soon after though, and nudged his shoulder gently. “Of course we will be you bumbling fool” she laughed.
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Table © Camy
