[11:10 AM] Kwakado: The army's precarious journey through Ethysian-occupied Floribar continued, though this day proved to be an uneventful one. No tense patrols, no bandit attacks or Ethysians to evade. But Persephone kept a sharp eye regardless as she rode alongside Abby's dark-purple cart. Kyron's black blade remained on her back, and her expression remained distant and dismayed.
[11:14 AM] Ulamog, the Omnom Cthulhu: Trotting up besides, slowly, a top Copernicus, Alexandra cleared her throat. She's heard of Persephone's state, but was unsure how to approach it, "Persephone. Eh... How are you...?"
[11:24 AM] Kwakado: "Alexandra." The young lady looked back at her, betraying just a little more distress. "My apologies, ma'am...I know it's been so long since last I visited. Everything's....changed."
[11:28 AM] Ulamog, the Omnom Cthulhu: "I... I heard," She frowned, "I won't pretend to comprehend your situation. All I can do is offer what consul I have, and try to comfort you similiarly."
[12:10 PM] Kwakado: Persephone looked away, unsure of what to say. Finally, she blurted out:
"Kind words can't turn back time. Love and hate...are written in our actions."
[12:12 PM] Ulamog, the Omnom Cthulhu: "They cannot true, but they can soften blows and help to heal wounds," Alexandra smiled.
[12:38 PM] Kwakado: Though she did not look over to see the smile, Persephone keptYuridia's pace slow, to stay beside the troubadour.
"Very well...I suppose you are an advisor, after all. But where to start?"
[12:54 PM] Ulamog, the Omnom Cthulhu: "I know not," Alexandra shook her head, "Whatever is easiest for you."
[12:58 PM] Kwakado: A defiant look crossed Persephone's face, as she responded bluntly: "Tell me you're safe, then. Tell me of the joy that awaits you after this war."
[1:03 PM] Ulamog, the Omnom Cthulhu: "Well, I am safe," Alexandra smiled, "After this, as you know, I'm to be a mother. I'll wait to talk with Julius, but I believe I've found some good names. Michelangelo, or Josephine."
[1:14 PM] Kwakado: "Oh, those certainly sound elegant...but what if Sir Julius disapproves?" The query came with a shred of curiosity, but just as much pain.
[1:16 PM] Ulamog, the Omnom Cthulhu: "We'll find something to agree on. There's more than enough names to carry my family's tradition of long and elegant names," Alexandra smiled, "I hope you can meet him one day. Such a boisterous man. Much more open with his feelings than I."
[2:13 PM] Kwakado: "He sounds like a man...worthy of your affection." Persephone fell quiet, at a loss for words once more.
[2:16 PM] Ulamog, the Omnom Cthulhu: Alexandra looked around, sighing to herself, "There's something I think you should know, Persephone. I plan to depart from Phineas's group after we retake the the castle. I've written to the queen, asking for a response to be sent there after a few day's delay. After that comes, I'll likely be on my way to Dovania, for better or for worse."
[5:22 PM] Kwakado: Persephone followed her gaze, taking note of the respectably-sized caravan beside them. "...you'll have company along the way, if nothing else. Maybe your Queen will even have mercy, for all your valour on His Highness's behalf."
[5:26 PM] Ulamog, the Omnom Cthulhu: "I hope so. But at this point, I must choose between my honor and my child. Its no a pleasent choice, but I think it a simple one," Alexandra nodded, "Damn the consequences, I can't risk my unborn child. My honor's already finished, remaining at my post won't change that."
[5:35 PM] Kwakado: "And....?" Persephone looked back to Alexandra, taking in her conviction. Loneliness struck once more, echoing that same question that had haunted her since before the bridge had burned: What next? What will go away?
With a furrowed brow that tried to concentrate on the 'now', and not the 'never', Persephone anchored her gaze to Alexandra's eyes.
"...if Ethysia should still hold Florette...what then?"
[5:37 PM] Ulamog, the Omnom Cthulhu: Alexandra smirked, "As though they'll be able to stand against our group's might."
[5:42 PM] Kwakado: "You jest!"
Persephone tore her head away, spurring her mount to rush on ahead. Already, a fresh stream of tears had begun to form in her eyes, and the girl was no more inclined to display them as she was to here more of the expectant mother's empty boasting.
[5:46 PM] Ulamog, the Omnom Cthulhu: "I..." Alexandra reached a hand out, retracting it before it got far, "I apologize, profusely. I wasn't thinking. I had meant to assure you of our success. I... am sorry for my tactless words, Persephone."
[5:55 PM] Kwakado: "Tactless indeed, milady...and I'm far too weary of them."
The scorned rider called out over her shoulder, but after a few moments of decompression, she rode back around, continuing as she returned to Alexandra's side.
"...General Kyron felt just the same, of his own might."
[5:57 PM] Ulamog, the Omnom Cthulhu: "If we should fail, then..." Alexandra considered, "I suppose I would be forced to retreat in failure. Hopefully pass by the return messengers on the way. I'm not particularly proud of it, but I believe that's what I'd have to do."
[6:15 PM] Kwakado: Alexandra's hesitation only brought further disrtress to Persephone, whose eyes were all but eclipsed by that specter of solitutde. "Had you even thought about what could happen? Are you really ready to retreat?! Or was that talk of lost honor just another act of assurance?"(edited)
[6:17 PM] Ulamog, the Omnom Cthulhu: "I..." Alexandra grasped for words, "I don't want to leave. I truly do not. My circumstance leaves me little choice though. I'm nearing the point of being more a burden than a boon as it is."
[6:30 PM] Kwakado: Persephone kept quiet, crying to herself under the sound of their horses' hooves. Considering Alexandra's words alongside her own, she finally looked back up with an unspoken apology on her face.
"...I just want them back, Alexandra. I don't want anyone else to bear this pain."
[6:39 PM] Ulamog, the Omnom Cthulhu: "I felt the same way after my father passed. My mother was in shambles, my sister wouldn't talk to anyone. His passing shook the De'Trivel family greatly," Alexandra explained, "Even now, I find myself missing him. I won't lie to, and say it gets easier. The loss of a loved one... its like losing an arm almost. The wound never heals. It just becomes normal. You learn to live with it. To remember what was, not what is."
"After I pulled myself from my own despair, I helped my family from theirs. We got the family back on its feet, and moved forward. The loss of my father is a wound we still bare, and we dearly wish he was still with us. But we know we can't get him back. So instead, we cherish his memory and honor his legacy."
[3:10 PM] Kwakado: Persephone listened quietly to Alexandra's story, remembering the loss of her own mother. How it had lingered over her whole family, the whole county. How lonely her poor father's eyes had beeen. When Alexandra remarked about the longevity of this loss, the young noble gave a silent nod of agreement.
But her tales of moving forward, of the restoration of family and honor, brought nothing but envious despair. Yet even she stayed quiet, knowing Alexandra meant well, and tugged at her lip with her teeth.
[3:21 PM] Ulamog, the Omnom Cthulhu: "I can't so much as pretend to know how it feels to be in your situation. Perhaps my attempt at finding common ground failed horribly, and you think me a fool. Either way, I hope you know that I am here for you. All of us are. From Delphine to Phineas to Rieze to Mateus to Myself. You're one of our own, and it hurts to see one of our own like this," Alexandra coughed once or twice, "At some time, not now, perhaps not even anytime soon, you will need to make a choice. To save yourself, or let this despair consume you. So I emplore you, mourn your loss. But please, do not let it become you. You're such a wonderful, beautiful, amazing young woman. To lose you in to the abyss of despair would be just a grave a loss."
[12:05 PM] Kwakado: "I can't thank you enough, Alexandra. All of you. And I don't wish to bring harm to any of you, nor a burden..."
Drawing the reins back to her chest, Persephone's thoughts drifted by each ally that Alexandra named. But even though they were only a minute's ride away, as present and willing as they'd claimed, these ones seemed so much more distant than Orfé and Kyron. She could feel their stubborn bravado, their hollowed-out promises, on the inside. And it chilled her to the bone.
"...But I'm already lost. My family is gone; our honor's been finished since before my birth. There's...nothing left. Not even vengeance."
[12:39 PM] Ulamog, the Omnom Cthulhu: "You don't need to thank us, we're not looking for any sort of personal gain nor special recognition. We just want to see you in better straights," Alexandra smiles.
"Vengeance is... it is something I struggle to understand. I confide my grudges to Olphira, then release them and trust them to her. But enough of my tangent rambling."
"Your life has undoubtedly been a difficult one, and still so young," She began, "Yet you have made it this far. You didn't let the world beat you down, and you stayed your course. What is next is what you make of it. My house is new to nobility, I am but the third generation since its rise."
"I believe that you, with effort, can restore your family as a regarded noble household. It would indeed take a great amount of effort, but you've made many friends in high places. A Prince, A Queen's Ear, Perhaps the Queen herself, and a myriad of nobles. You've a much better position to do so than my grandfather had, and look where my family sits now. Turn your gaze to the future, and let go of the past. I'm not saying to forget the past, no. Just not to dwell in it."
[12:41 PM] Ulamog, the Omnom Cthulhu: Look at me talk. All this rabble of restoring a family's honor, and yet I myself have most certainly destroyed my own family's reputation with my lust and recklessness.
[1:28 PM] Kwakado: "And why shouldn't I dwell in the past?" Her expression softened, releasing its hold on the grief within. "It was a time when men could be trusted. When I was something more than a fugitive in my own motherland."
The young lady waved a hand across the Floribian horizon, where they'd both spent several days scanning for danger.
[1:31 PM] Ulamog, the Omnom Cthulhu: "Make that the future. After this war ends, return. Restore your family name to its past honor. All I can say for sure is that living in the past brings no good. It makes you blind to the world around you."
[1:47 PM] Kwakado: "To hell with my family name!" Persephone brought her horse to a stop, letting the mage's cart go on ahead. Her voice cracked into a sob as she spoke. "All I care to return to is my brother....my beloved!"
Clutching at her dress, the girl gazed at Alexandra in anguish.
"Tell me, Alexandra, what measure of glory can bring them back now? What sort of balm is a dead man's honor to me?"
[1:51 PM] Ulamog, the Omnom Cthulhu: "It is their memory and their legacy. You can't bring them back, but you can make it so they are remembered. Not as traitors or other horrible things, but as members of your house. Lest they be forgotten. Or worse; remembered as villains. Let your love for them drive you, to make certain it never happens again."
[2:28 PM] Kwakado: With a soft sniffle, she shook her head, and her voice dulled in pitch. "The world shall think what it pleases. They always have."
[2:40 PM] Ulamog, the Omnom Cthulhu: "And what have you done about that? If you believe your name too sullied, then why would anyone else think otherwise? You must give them a reason to think otherwise, Persephone. Make them see they were wrong about you and that you are worthy of their fealty. The back your words with action. Then, dear Cawdor, then people will change their minds."
[2:53 PM] Kwakado: "Ma'am, we have given our lives for the Crown. We have taken lives that stood in His Highness's way. Even now, we ride into a hopeless battle that may be the end of us all!" The girl's eyes narrow at the foreigner. "What more would you have me throw aside?"
[2:55 PM] Ulamog, the Omnom Cthulhu: "Your pessimistic, self loathing attitude."
[3:25 PM] Kwakado: Persephone fell silent once more, wiping her tears with a gloved hand. As it left, her head sank in acknowledgement of Alexandra's reprimand, though she could hardly hold a single clear thought right now. After some heavy breaths, she spoke quietly:
"I will rejoice, when my heart has something to celebrate. But until that day comes, we are at war. Floribar does not call for an empty smile, but a sword." She lifted her chin, holding a hand to the hilt of her husband-to-be. "And I will provide exactly that - with or without the bards' praise."
[3:29 PM] Ulamog, the Omnom Cthulhu: Alexandra smiled, "That's all I can ask."
Then after a pause, "This conviction suits you much better than the self pity did."
[3:37 PM] Kwakado: "Then you've nothing to worry about, De'trivel." An empty smile attempts to comfort her friend. "I won't let my heart get in the way of my hand."
[5:10 PM] Ulamog, the Omnom Cthulhu: "Good, I'm glad. I..." Alexandra began, shuddering a bit, "Sorry. Where was I...? Ah yes. I hope I was able to help someway, and that I didn't turn you away from my consul forever. If you ever have anything you need to talk about, I'll be ready to listen."
"Though, soon enough, you'll need to cross countries for my consul..." She sighed.
[5:54 PM] Kwakado: "Just make sure you stay safe, so you can offer that consul." Persephone looked back to the advancing caravan. "We should get back. Bandits could strike at any time."
[6:05 PM] Ulamog, the Omnom Cthulhu: "Of course, Persephone. I will stay safe," Alexandra nodded, "You go on ahead, I'll catch up at my own pace. Unless you want me to chatter your ears of, hmm?"
[6:16 PM] Kwakado: "That's no trouble at all." She turned away, readying the reins. "Til we meet again."
[6:17 PM] Ulamog, the Omnom Cthulhu: Alexandra waved as Pers went.
That girl, I worry for her. Nearly as much as I do for this child I carry.
[6:21 PM] Kwakado: ===END RP===
