phoenixstrut | [AU] For the Greater Good

She's can feel his awareness much more thoroughly than she'd like and sighs, mentally swearing to herself as she surveys the scene again and tries to ignore the heat on her face. She... messed up.

"Ridiculous," she mutters to herself, but whether it's at herself, the situation, or the overall situation the separation in their worlds has caused is left to the interpretation of those who happen to hear her.

Mustering up as many scraps of her pride as she can, she looks to the woman on the ground. "Win this one, then."

And with that, she turns on her heel and heads back in the direction she came...

Which... potentially could be deeper into the slums. She's too embarrassed and frustrated to be sure.

Zaveid watches her go, then looks back at the demons and shrugs, turning to talk to them and probably see to it this doesn't cost them.

Rokurou follows catches up to her, arms crossed behind his head. "Are you trying to get further into the slums, or...?"

She tenses at the sound of footsteps behind her, but sags a little in relief when it turns out to be Rokurou and not him.

"I-" Shoot. Wrong way... naturally.

"Any chance you can get me home before I make a bigger fool of myself?" she asks, attempting half a somewhat biting smile, but...also failing a bit.

He laughs a little, although its hard to really tell what about, even with her reading.

"Take the next left." And so Rokurou guides her home, her own words, thank you!

Zaveid doesn't even really say anything about her trip out when he gets back from whatever he spend the rest of the day doing, but the next morning, there's a list of books sitting on the side table. The titles look like law.

She follows him home without a word, her head low and the hood pulled much further down until they're safely inside the manor once more. What a fool... She should have known better than to interact, but seeing their so called 'laws' unfolding before her...

She's sure to be as asleep as possible before Zaveid can return that night, with every hope he won't wake her in some furious demonic kingly rage to tell her off for embarrassing him.

Upon waking and finding the list, she's hesitant.... but calls a maid to her room to fetch her the books, opting to hide inside their suite for the time being and bury her nose in the suggested books... at least the King is restrained enough not to mock her for her mistake. In fact, the list he provided comes in handy, and though it's weary reading, and her light doesn't seem as bright to those few who assist her... she's much better acquainted with the rules in only a few days.

Now if she would only leave the wing... Deep inside her, she hopes rumors haven't already spread and that Zaveid is keeping himself somewhat scarce. It would be odd to see him alone...without her... just days after their wedding, afterall.

Zaveid..... Who knows what Zaveid is up to while she's hiding. He's clearly there at night, if just by how the room changes a little from things like him sleeping in that chair, laundry growing in his basket, towel changing in the bathroom.

Until one day he just comes back after she's sent lunch off, some form of amused and exasperated to see her there. Still, it looks like.

"C'mon, I wanna show you something." There is fresh air in the low-

As the days pass more smoothly than conversation with her new spouse, she only grows more and more anxious and adding to the list of every growing concerns: They're married, and he's demanded nothing of her...? They've barely even spoken and are bound eternally. Obviously he sees her as a complete fool and little worth his time.

Should she be trying harder?

She's almost made up her mind to spend the next hour trying to think of a way to appease him and at least try to make things less awkward when-- oop. There he is.

She closes the book in her lap and looks up at him, almost as if waiting for him to lash out, but....

"Oh... um...alright..."

Once the book is set aside, she stands and heads over to him.

Edited 2019-09-09 19:39 (UTC)

He pauses once she follows him to the door, like he remembered something.

"You wanna wear that outside? Not... Outside outside, but still out of the main building."

He means it's not off the grounds of the manor, but it's still open air he wants to show her.

Zaveid will wait in the hall with that same mild exasperated tired feel that... May be just how he feels about her at the moment. Who knows.

And then he leads her through the manor, pointing out a few landmarks for how she can get 'there' on her own.

Until he holds the door open to outside. Smells a little like flowers, maybe faintly familiar ones.

"O-Oh... right..."

Surprisingly enough, her face falls when he leaves the room for her to change, and the exasperation radiating from the hallway does little to soothe her. Naturally.

Once she's decent in one of her own outfits, she makes her way out to him, pushing her hair back from her face. Politely, if quietly, she follows him, doing her best to ignore the way the house staff is quick to move out of their way and the confused looks they give each other as he leads her to...

...a garden?

She hesitates a moment, then takes the offered door, stepping down the few stairs into the intimate little courtyard and surveying it curiously. It's not the most tidy of gardens, and a few of the plants look like they could use some tending to... but it's beautiful in it's own, quiet way.

She notices a particularly vivid group of blossoms and immediately heads over to them, only glancing over her shoulder at him once to be sure it's alright. "What is this place?"

These flowers... She knows exactly where she recognizes them.

Strangely enough, though she doesn't seem to notice, the bushes and vines she passes seem to perk a little at her presence.

Zaveid manages not to say 'a garden'. She can tell that much, obviously.

"The closest garden." He shrugs with that, staying near the steps. He definitely.... Feels a bit different here. "Its not one of the ones used for fresh veg, so you're least likely to run into anyone else here."

Assuming she can find it on her own again... Maybe he will have to leave her directions...

It's chilly, yes, but... not off-puttingly so, oddly enough, but even as she turns to him, something in the space around them has her wrapping her arms about herself. The emotion he's putting off... gentle? Distant?

She's confused, but he seems almost as if he's trying... something. She might as well try back. "Right... Are these the flowers from all the bouquets you sent me? I'd never seen them before..."

A tiny flicker of surprise. She had remembered them.

"I've never seen them grow well anywhere else. So either they like me, or they like here." is that basically saying it's his garden. It might be.

"You can come here whenever you like." With a little 'so you actually leave their room sometimes' tone.

There's a small hint of a smile at the surprise. Maybe she had done something right?

"Whoever arranged the ones you sent me did a beautiful job..." They had been beautiful, if slightly more temporary in the High.

Her cheeks flush a bit at the tone, but she looks back out over the flowers anyway. "So the King has his own personal garden?" The curiosity on her face is clearly that of...wondering who tends to it. While beautiful, it...might look a bit wild and untidy in spots.

...for now.

Oh, good, they'd been a good touch and not just as one to carry some courage boost in liquid form.

"A few." A little amusement. She probably won't like the others much.

"If I'm out, someone else waters if it hasn't been raining much. Checks if they aren't getting bugs." but given that's all he mentions...yes,its his garden.

More genuine surprise.

"You tend it yourself?"

"What?" He squashes a little irritation. What is so surprising about him having a garden.

"Not a demon hobby or something?"

.... Oops he got snappy anyway.

That small friendly warmth in her eyes gets a bit chilly at the retort.

"Not exactly a King's hobby," she sighs, deciding to finally perch on the edge of a stone bench. "God knows my own counsel wouldn't let me lift a finger if I wanted to. Apparently blood and dirt is fine on an archangel's hands, but dirt for pleasure..."

.... Now that just sounds completely wrong.

"Just things that would have you get dirty or any hobbies in the High?" He is.. .very neutral feeling, asking that. Hmn.

She looks up at him with a look that clearly just reads 'yes'.

"I think it's their way of trying to... repair my not so golden public image..."

After all, a royal like her shouldn't be wasting her time with hobbies when she clearly has so much to learn.

"Huh." Zaveid... is still very neutral on this. Absolutely no indication how he feels about that - other than he's not giving any indication how he feels on it.

"Well, you're here. I don't care if you want to spend time poking around in the mud." .... Okay maybe he does care a little- "... Okay, I'd rather you didn't pull things out unless its real clear they're sick."

At least he gets a bit of a grateful look at that, even if it's brief. She turns her attention to some of the more wilted flowers near the bench and reaches out a hand, Light filling her palm. "No need to uproot them... They've been here much longer than me, anyway."

Even before she touches them, the flowers seem to reach for her and blossom to full health.

She sighs. "I... probably should leave the manor at some point, though..." Maybe that's some guilt in her voice, because uh... oops.

He's quiet for a good couple minutes, a kind of twisty feeling like he's debating something.

So when he speaks up, it's a little slow, and that weird neutral. "While we don't have much that's super fancy down here... We could go out to lunch tomorrow."

Yes he's offering an excuse to go out and with someone-

"Or the day after." And trying not to pressure her into yep let's get you out asap.

She looks at him in surprise, masking it too late, and tries to feel him out. There's that... strange neutral again...

"I'd like that," she tells him, actually brightening a little. Despite the awkwardness between them... They are married. "My, um... schedule isn't exactly...busy."

Or existent. She really needed to find something to fill it with, now that she had devoured most of the law books he had had sent to her. "Maybe you could show me around, too...? Probably fewer ways to get lost that way..."

"Walk up an appetite, walk to settle after." Said thoughtfully. Yeah, that works.

"Be ready to head out around ten, then." a tickle of amusement and

It's a date.

He will be out in the morning, and returns a little before ten to fish in his dresser.

... So slightly torn jeans and a hoodie seem to be his choice. Dubious if he's got a shirt on under that....

Her smile brightens just a little more, even as he leaves to do... whatever it is the King does.

She's ready the next morning, and while it's obvious she's casually dressed.... she still looks much more the part of Royal in her leggings and heels. Even a thin, silvery-gold band sits atop her head. Old habits drilled into her die hard.

Oddly enough, though, she... doesn't hate his own outfit, even if it's a bit unconventional.

"So... where to?"

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