Fantasy RP Dragoste Eternă (Chaotic)

[FaeWhisperer]

In the late 17th century, there lived a a young ruling king of Romania— a domnitori. He oversaw his kingdom from a very young age, as his father had succumbed to illness earlier that same year. He had been put into power when he had turned 15, and it had been three years since that summer day. He had no other family, since his mother had died in childbirth, so he had been a very lonely individual.

Except for his servants, the young ruler did not have much of any friends— and the only one he did have mysteriously had disappeared when he had become king. So from then on, he had spent his evenings alone and away from everyone. Often caught up in his study, or retiring to his bedchambers. He knew he had to keep certain political ties in place but was often absent at times, sending someone in his stead— like his royal advisor.

Then recently, there had been rumors of a witch coven establishing themselves in a nearby wood. And the village people were frightened, especially of the unknown. The young ruler knew that, and he wasn’t sure if they had any reason to be afraid. He wanted to see if he could discover this so called coven for himself, and had slipped past the guards to do just that.

He had readied his steed, a white stallion that stood tall and proud, and he had had this horse for quite some time. The horse was bonded deeply with the man, and the ruler was grateful he didn’t make much of a fuss when he prepared him to leave.

Riding into the forest, he had his sword on his hip and a dark cloak wrapped around his body. But it flew behind him as he rode, and he began to wonder just exactly what he would be discovering.

Now what he didn’t know— was that this childhood friend of his— who he hadn’t seen since his coronation, had been taken in by this coven. He had wondered why she had stopped visiting him, and had even traveled to her home several times to see if she had returned. Her home had been a small cottage located outside of the village— and not only was his friend gone, her mother was also nowhere to be seen. Another thing he didn’t know, was that his friend’s mother was also a witch, and had went to the coven with her daughter to train her in the ways of witchcraft.

(I’ll make a character sheet placement later but I wanted to get this out first and foremost)

 

[Chaotic_Emerald]

Morana was the daughter of a rather popular herbologist who worked with the alchemists in the King's castle, so she eventually met the prince and became close friends with him. While she didn't have too much of a problem with making friends within the kingdom, there was just something about the prince that caught her attention more than the rest. Whether it was the fact that he was royalty, had a different upbringing, or was genuinely interesting, she wasn't sure.

But what she was sure about was the fact that shortly after his father, the King, fell ill, her and her mother left the kingdom and fled into the nearby forest. Morana had no idea why she was dragged along until she learned that her mother, the alchemists and several others she'd known her whole life were witches. So was she apparently.

The reason why they'd moved out of the kingdom was because one of the alchemists had been the cause of the King's illness. There was a small suspicion among a few other commoners about the practice of witchcraft so the whole lot of them had to cut loose ends and bail. Morana never even got to say goodbye to the prince...or the new king. That was probably what hurt the most.

Occasionally she'd sneak away and into the kingdom to learn how he was doing from some other people she would speak with. Her mother caught her one of those times and forbade her from leaving. Instead forced Morana to focus on learning the craft. That's when she started changing...slowly. Her main practice was with herbs and nature magic. But from time to time, she'd dabble in some sort of dark magic she saw in a book from her studies.

It caught her attention, and she made sure not to get caught this time. There was a memory altering spell she learned and would practice in the kingdom. She'd hear reports of commoners losing their memories from a mysterious force. That was she only one she knew, and recently she had to stop as there were rumors spreading about the witches again.

Morana thought they'd stop once she left them alone, but they didn't. She didn't know that until she heard word of someone approaching the coven by horse. The whole coven had planned to force this person out by any means, but Morana managed to convince them to let her handle it. After all, she had the most people skills ever since they all fled out here.

So here she was, sitting on a tree stump just outside the borders as she could see the figure approaching. When she could make out who it was her heart stopped. It was the prince - no - the king. What was he doing out here? Last she heard he sent people out to deal with things and was often in the castle. Immediately standing, she straightened herself up. It had been 3 years, maybe he wouldn't recognize her. Or maybe...she could make him forget. But she couldn't control how much he'd forget. What if he forgot her entirely?

Thoughts were swarming her mind as his figure on the white horse grew closer and closer down the path.

 

[FaeWhisperer]

Theodore Alexandre may have sent others to do his bidding when it came to political matters.. but when it came down to personal matters that concerned his kingdom— especially those who lived in the nearby villages, he knew he would have to explore and figure out what exactly was going on. Of course it would have been better if he and his guards went out together, but he feared his royal advisors would be against this outing. Considering if there were actual witches out here in the first place, who knows exactly what they were capable of.

As Theo approached, the cloak of night surrounding him seemed to melt away as moonlight illuminated his very figure, making him and his steed appear very ethereal. His breath could be seen in short clouds of steam as he steadied his breathing, looking around the area. He noticed something at the end of this path, and he figured out that it was a woman.

She looked no older than he was, and he steadied his horse, as his steed seemed to become excited for some reason. Of course his horse would recognize Morana, but at first Theodore did not. He didn’t think that this woman in front of him posed any threat, and as the noble man his father had raised him to be began to shine through once more with words of concern. “Have you lost your way, miss?” He asked, seemingly dropping his guard down. He knew he must have been in the witch territory now but surely this woman in front of him was no witch. She did not appear as they had in fabled stories, but he figured maybe they did not all look like that. Something about this woman felt familiar, and he couldn’t quite place what it was.

 

[Chaotic_Emerald]

Morana was shocked to see the horse recognize her. She never thought the animal would have a good memory. But learning to work with nature had taught her several things, especially how to recognize when an animal is familiar with someone.

She couldn't help but look over both Theo and the horse. Gods it's been such a long time since she's seen them both. Then when it clicked that he was asking her a question she cleared her throat, "No I am not lost, sir. I live out here in these woods with my family. They don't take kindly to strangers showing up unannounced, so I am here to ask that you leave and return to your home." It was honestly the nicest way she could have put it for him. She couldn't exactly tell him what they all were.

Before he could get a chance to speak she continued, "I mean no disrespect...your majesty," She did a small curtsy, glancing up at him through her eyelashes, "But I would hate to see something happen to you or the people who live here if you were to step beyond the borders." She stands up straight and glances to where a seemingly natural arch was formed from a tree. Morana knew that the second he stepped through, the others of the coven would be waiting to strike.

Turning to look at him, "Perhaps you could tell me what it is you are looking for, and I can help you to find it." She offered, studying him. It was odd that the horse remembered her and he didn't. Would the horse try to give her away? That was certainly a worry in her mind. If he didn't remember...perhaps that was for the best.

 

[FaeWhisperer]

Clearly it had been some time since the two had last seen each other. His hair had grown long, past his shoulders and down his back now. It was as black as a raven’s feather, and his eyes were still that same shade of icy blue. His pale complexion showed that he rarely got out, but his complexion was also of that who had been pampered throughout his life, and never had to do any hard labor.

And although that was true, Morana would also remember that he was well versed in combat training. Even though there hadn’t been a war or any sort of battle in the three years he had been king, he still had been trained since he had been young. Skilled with the same sword that was currently on his hip, and if she was to use magic against him in combat, he was light and nimble on his feet, moving in such a way that one would think he had his own source of magic he drew upon to avoid attacks.

But what Morana didn’t realize, was that there was glimmer magic being used— a spell that disguised what you wanted, how you wanted. They were using such magic to make sure the king didn’t recognize Morana, as that would be better for their sake. And if by some other means, that Theodore walked through the barrier…unfortunately, they would have to eliminate him.

Then Theodore did what no one would expect. He looked over the woman before him, and then spoke after she had asked what he was there for. “To tell you truthfully, I came in search of finding a witch coven,” he tilted his head slightly. “And I know…you could very well be apart of that—even though you don’t look the part,” he shakes his head. Theodore sighs and closes his eyes. “I know I came out here because of speculation and rumor, but I wanted to see things for myself and make my own judgements,” he reopens his eyes and looked past where she was standing. He had figured at first she must have not been a witch—but then again, rebuilding his guard was probably best. But he continued to seem to…be less reserved. Maybe too openly trusting. Because he always gave people benefit of the doubt first, before judging too rashly or without reason.

“Surely, if you were to be a witch, I believe there is some understanding we can agree to with one another?” And with those words his steed seemed a bit uneasy, as if he was being watched from the shadows.

“I..don’t mean to harm,” he says aloud next, looking around, suddenly feeling like he had an audience.

 

[Chaotic_Emerald]

The more Morana looked at him the more she remembered their time together before he was king...before she left. But clearly enough time had passed and even though she was able to recognize him...the same couldn't be said for him. It grew clearer that he didn't recognize her and she couldn't help but feel something in her chest...pain? Not physical pain but more so emotional pain. Part of her hoped he recognized her, more for her sake. But there was that part of her that hoped he didn't so the others lurking in the shadows wouldn't do any harm to the king. That was something she had to get used to.

But she almost let her guard down when he mentioned the coven. But luckily she was able to hold herself straight as he talked about why he was here. In order to try and throw him off she let out a confused laugh, "I know nothing about witches your majesty. I thought there are not any witches surrounding this kingdom."

At his talk of her potentially being a witch, she shook her head before continuing, "I am no witch your majesty. I am simply a girl living with her family so we can make a life for ourselves. The kingdom was no good and we could not find any sort of work with our skills. Now we work for ourselves and trade out our herbs to nearby apothecaries and other places who request them. We are nothing more than a small village of people working together to make a living your majesty." She explained, keeping her expression soft as she spoke.

She wanted to say more, but didn't want to overwhelm him with reasons why he shouldn't enter. That would probably be more suspicious.

 

[FaeWhisperer]

Theodore looked confused, partly because the woman before him spoke as if his words had been nonsense. His lips parted as if he wanted to say something more. But his horse gave another uncomfortable snort, rearing his head and stepping backwards. Theo pulled on his reigns to steady him, wondering what had gotten him so worked up.

Theodore then looked up at the woman, “Alright, I believe you..” he started, his brow furrowing. Surely he had been sure there would be something out here. For where else would his friend have gone? If she had been captured by the witches…perhaps, that was a reason for her sudden disappearance. But again, being out here was leading him nowhere. How was he to find her now?

“I’m sorry to have wasted your time…” he apologized and turned his steed around, glancing back at the woman once more before he used the spurs on his boots to get his horse to start moving forward once more- back the way he came.

—

It was then Theodore woke up in a cold sweat, gasping slightly as he woke. His head began to pound. What…what was that? He had began to wonder. A dream? But why would he dream of finding witches…he knew the village people had their speculations and rumors of one, but he hadn’t actually went and investigated yet, had he?

Still, on his mind was that woman from his dream. She seemed so familiar, but she—

Of course it hadn’t been a dream, but Theodore didn’t know that. He was spelled to believe that fact, another precaution the witch coven had taken to remain hidden.

Morana’s mother had seen how upset she had become from the fact the king did not recognize her, and once Morana found out that there was glimmer magic used to disguise her in front of Theodore…who knows how she would react. “Morana, darling…perhaps this is for the best,” she murmured out, going to reach for her daughter. But ever since leaving without saying goodbye to him, her mother knew that had weighed heavily on her daughter’s heart. They just couldn’t risk being discovered, especially by the king.

 

[Chaotic_Emerald]

Morana looked confused at the way the horse was behaving, there shouldn't be a reason for him to be so uneasy. Unless he was able to sense the familiars that she could feel lurking but didn't think the horse would be able to. The familiars were keeping an eye on her and Theo, to report back in case she messed up somehow. She could even feel her own familiar, a black and white cat named Onyx, lurking around as well.

But she quickly switched her demeanor back to before, a gentle smile with her hands folded together in front of her. "You can never waste my time your majesty. I will always have time for you. I hope you find what you are looking for." She did another curtsy as he turned his head toward her.

Once his figure was distant enough, she turned around and her whole demeanor changed. Her smile dropped and her hands fell to her side.

As she began to walk towards the tree arch, Onyx came from a nearby bush and walked alongside her. Making her way through the little village she could feel stares on her. It was obvious that the king was not following her which meant she succeeded. So why were they staring at her, she could not say. But she didn't care. Morana had to report back to the coven leaders in the central building and after she needed to have a conversation with her mother.

Why didn't Theo remember her? She didn't think a memory could be altered like that. Then again she had been messing with people's memories for a while, but all she was able to do was erase them almost completely.

Reaching the central building, she entered and there was the 5 coven leaders waiting for her.

"How did it go?"

"Did he suspect anything?"

"Did he recognize you?"

Questions began as soon as they saw her. But that last one caught her interest. They didn't know about whatever prevented him from recognizing her.

All she did was shake her head before she responded, "He did not recognize me, nor did he truly believe the reason he came out here. He seemed to be looking for something, or someone." It wasn't the full truth, but to tell them that he was suspicious of witches nearby would but a bounty on his head. Morana didn't want that. Especially not after being able to see him for three years.

Giving the coven leaders a small nod after they seemed satisfied with her answer, she turned to leave and find her mother.

Learning she was at the village garden, she made her way over there and immediately got her mother's attention. "Mother...we need to talk." She said, moving to stand next to her mother as she tended to some plants.

"Yes? How did your task go? I heard someone came to the village but no one would tell me who. Who was it?"

"The king. The new king. The one I never got to say goodbye to. Remember him?" As soon as Morana said the king, her face dropped and before she could reply Morana continued, "He did not remember me. You wouldn't happen to know why, would you mother?"

Her mother stood, brushing off some soil off her dress before reaching out, "Morana...I...you see...the day we left I casted a spell to hide his memory of what you looked like. So he would not remember you and wouldn't go searching for you when we left. You have to understand...it was for the best."

Morana backed away from her mother, not wanting the woman before her to touch her. Tears were pooling in her eyes, betrayal written on her face. "You knew how much I wanted to say goodbye. How bad I felt for leaving him...alone after his father fell ill. How could you do this to me?"

Her mother sighed and tried to reach out again, "Perhaps this is for the best. If he remembered you he would have insisted that he enter. Then he could have discovered us! This is not all about you Morana. It was also to protect our people."

Shaking her head she backed up again, "Do not touch me! This is unfair. You could have at least let me say goodbye. That would have avoided more suspicion than simply leaving. You made things worse! Even if he does not remember me exactly, he will remember someone and he will search for them. You underestimated our relationship..." Narrowing her eyes at her mother she adds, "do the coven leaders know you used a forbidden kind of magic? I thought memory alterations were forbidden...almost considered dark magic depending on how it is used..."

Her mother's eyes widened slightly at the mention of the coven leaders, "You cannot tell them! They don't know, if they knew not only would they put me on trial, but they would harm the king."

"Then take the glimmer off. Let him remember what I look like. Let me talk to him, explain to him why I left and that I will not be returning. It will be better for all of us to give him and myself closure. Take the glimmer off...and I won't tell the leaders." It was blackmail, and she could simply hide away with Theo to protect him. She was great in her protective spells, best in her age group. Alongside that, she was great with healing, animals, herbal remedies and potions.

She was confident she could protect them both.

Her mother sighed, thinking. "Fine. Only for half of the day. Just with enough time for you to reach the kingdom and talk with him. Then it goes back up." Before her mother can let her hopes get too high, "But I will do it tomorrow. As soon as you are ready to depart, I will let it down."

Morana's face lit up, "Oh, thank you mother!" Nodding at her conditions before going off to tend to the rest of her duties.

 

[FaeWhisperer]

And for the half of the day, it went by way quicker than one would expect. It was as if the universe itself was trying to hurry up the encounter -- or perhaps some other unseen forces were happening in the background to move this along. Morana would have to hurry up and meet the king again before the spell that had been lifted would go back to how it had been -- when the veil was lifted, she would only have a short window to do this.

Theo for the half of the day had been in his study once more, reading over the census. There had to be something missing, he knew his friend and her family wouldn't just disappear like that. It was odd that there had been some records altered around the time of his coronation, and he was struggling to figure out why they had been changed. He sighed out of frustration and sunk back into his chair. Closing his eyes, he tried to remember her face, but for some reason he couldn't. Surely he had some portrait of her somewhere, but everytime looked he could not find one. "Morana-" He spoke out her name, the words rolling off of his tongue with ease.

Reaching around with his hand he rubbed the back of his neck, grunting softly as he grimaced and opened his eyes. His head began to hurt once more. It had been doing that often, and like everything else, he couldn't place why. This was the other reason why he had been so drawn away recently, and had refused to go out. Not only had he been grieving the loss of his friend, but the lapses in his memory didn't prove much good either.

Theodore then reached towards the front of his neck, feeling the locket he had kept from Morana. He always had kept it around his neck from the day she had given it to him. Often times he had opened it to see if there had been a portrait of her there, but it had been empty. No matter how many times he looked, it was always empty. But once again, out of morbid curiosity, he decided to open it once more. Looking down at the silver amulet, he suddenly sat up straight when the contents of the locket surprised him. There it was! As if it had been there the entire time, Morana's face was gazing back at him!

He looked up and around his study, his eyes flickering back and forth quickly around the candlelit room to see if this had been a trick of the light, but no- her face was there. It was truly there..!

And then as if the fog had been lifted from his brain, he remembered the 'dream' he had earlier. It had been no dream, but reality. And he had been talking to Morana the whole entire time. How could he have been so blind, so stupid?!

The king did not waste one single moment. Jumping up from his chair he bolted from his study to run down the stairwell to the outside courtyard. He didn't even think of grabbing his coat when he burst through the door. His guards had been surprised to see the king in such a rush. They all looked at each other with concern, what had gotten the king so worked up?

And there they were, both out of breath. Theo hadn't even finished crossing over the garden wall yet when he locked eyes with Morana. She would see the locket around his neck, the pendant open. He took one shaky breath and stepped forward to Morana, no other words would come to him except her name. "M-Morana?"

 

[Chaotic_Emerald]

Before Morana went to sleep, she snuck out of the house and went to this secluded spot within the village with Onyx following closely behind her. This was where she normally practiced her 'allowed' magic.

In her hand was a somewhat small charm made up of several stars that were connected to make the shape of the constellation Ursa Major aka The Great Bear. It was a symbol of strength.

The reason why she had this charm with her, was so she could put a protection spell on it. Her intention was to cast this on the charm so she could give it to Theo so when her mother tried to recast the glimmer, it wouldn't work on him. Though her mother would have no way of knowing if it succeeded or failed, unless she went into the kingdom. But there were specific witches who went there and even so, it was a rare occasion.

Whispering an incantation while holding the charm tightly, a small glow could be seen from her hands for a brief moment before quickly fading as soon as she stopped speaking. It worked. Good.

Then she went to sleep.

Come the next day Morana was hurriedly doing her morning chores so she could leave. Though she kept making a few mistakes, so it took her longer than she wanted it to.

Eventually she was ready to leave, and her mother lifted the glimmer once Morana was ready to depart.

Getting on top of a village horse, she rode it all the way to that one part of the garden she knew like the back of her hand. It was where she would often sneak in to see Theo before she left. There was also no way for someone to see her, unless the kingdom had changed so suddenly. But last time she was there, it was the same.

Finally making her way there, she jumped off the horse and began rushing towards the garden wall. Tears were starting to stream down her face as she got ready. Ready for him to remember her, ready to see that familiar face and not have to hope if he remembered her or not.

Pulling the charm from her satchel, she stopped in her tracks the moment she saw him, a smile of relief taking over her face. "Theo..." She spoke, locking her eyes with his before dropping to look at the locket she gave him. It was open, and she figured it was because he could now see her face inside it. The point of that was so he'd remember her, 'always and forever', she told him.

Even with tears falling down her face she couldn't help but let out a small laugh. Perhaps out of relief that her mom pulled through. "I'm here...I'm so sorry." She apologized before running towards him again. When she reached him she latched herself onto him for a hug. The force in which she'd do so would almost knock them over. She had wanted to do that for so long.

 

[FaeWhisperer]

Theodore caught his breath the moment Morana spoke. His memory had begun to flood with the last time they had saw each other, and he had remembered her in tears. But for what reason, that had been a bit muddy still in his memory. But now, Morana was in tears for a different reason and Theodore knew why this time.

He had watched her run to embrace him and he had opened his arms to let her do that very thing. She collided with him and knocked the air out of him but he didn’t care. He stumbled back slightly when she did but he steadied his footing and his arms wrapped around her smaller frame tightly, burying his head within the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent. Clearly, this is something very close friends…normally wouldn’t do. His body trembled lightly as his own tears fell from his face, his arms not wanting to let her go just yet. “No— I’m sorry,” he apologizes to her. “I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you…”

As the glimmer had broken on the king, so had it been done on everyone in that palace for the time being. His guards had followed him out of the palace walls after he had bolted past them — they were trailing him to make sure he would be safe, but soon stopped the moment they recognized who the woman he had suddenly met had been. They had been ready to defend their king thinking some threat had entered the palace’s borders, but retreated the moment they realized who he had rushed out to meet. As mentioned before, they had been baffled on why the king had rushed his way out of the palace— but upon seeing Morana, those like his closest personal guard knew why. Even if the king didn’t outrightly say it.

 

[Chaotic_Emerald]

As soon as Morana felt his arms wrap around her, she tightened her grip, not wanting to let go just yet. She had an earthy smell, like she's spent her whole life out in the forest, although it was just three years.

"It's okay...it's been 3 years I didn't expect you to right away..." She muttered. "But you do now. That's what matters." Obviously, she had to make it seem like she didn't know why he didn't remember her right away when they talked yesterday.

Hearing the guards rushing outside the walls she tensed for a moment, unsure if her mother had affected them as well with the spell. But she heard them stop and she could relax. There was so much that could've gone wrong if they didn't recognize her either. Even as king now, there were procedures in place if she was to be percieved as a threat.

Despite everything telling her not to, she pulled back to look at him before sticking her hand out, opening it to show him the charm. "I...I brought this for you. Along with answers to questions I'm sure you have." She was going to be as open as she could with him. There was only so much she could tell him. At least for now. Maybe somewhere down the line...- no - her mother would never allow her to tell him the truth about what she was. But maybe she didn't have to tell her. After all, she made this charm behind her back. What's a few more secrets?

"I don't have much time though. My mother is expecting me back at a certain time." She added, not wanting her mother to be suspicious.

 

[FaeWhisperer]

Theo did not wish to let go either, but when Morana had stepped back and presented a charm, questions immediately began to flood his head. He looked confused and reached out to touch the charm with his hands, delicately wrapping his fingers around it and her own, his eyes looking back up at her face.

“Charm..? Your mother..?” He remembered her mother and others had been those who had treated his royal family with herbs and medicines. But she had mentioned a charm and then it didn’t take much for the king to piece together.

“When I met you out in the forest…you were deliberately trying to make sure I wouldn’t discover your mother and the others…right?” He asked, but already knew the answer. Witchcraft was an offense to where punishment was death, but Theo wanted to keep an open mind about it all….and perhaps Morana would be able to help him with that.

He squeezed her hand in mid thought. “Morana…what if I come back with you? I’m not going to let you… leave me again…I can’t—“ his voice trembled. “You’re all I have,” he swallowed the apparent lump in his throat. “I’m sure there’s an understanding or an agreement your mother and I could come to..” he started to plead, hoping Morana would agree.

 

[Chaotic_Emerald]

Morana winced at his realization, not wanting to admit anything out loud - especially with the guard present - but the look in her eyes would be answer enough to his question about her mother. "They wanted to harm you..." She whispered, her voice cracking slightly as she tried to hold back more tears. "They were afraid you kill everyone if you found out...so they wanted to prevent that from happening...." She explained, glancing over to the guards warily. She didn't want them to hear anything about what she was saying.

"But...I convinced them to let me talk to you. I had hoped that I could get you to leave. That what you were looking for was not there. So you wouldn't go in...so they wouldn't do anything." She continued, her other hand going to grab his and squeezing tightly.

"My mother...she was the reason you didn't recognize me. But this charm, it won't happen again." She adds, glancing down at his hand that held the charm and her hand holding it.

Shaking her head at his next question, she avoided looking at him for when she spoke again. It pained her to hear him like this. To hear the pain in his voice, the way it trembled as he pleaded for her to not leave again. "I...you can't." She tried to keep her voice steady, "If my mother finds out what you know, and that I gave you this charm, I don't know what she'll do or how I can stop her...." she starts to explain, bringing her eyes to his, "But I promise you won't lose me again. As long as you have the charm with you at all times, you won't lose me."

"Promise me you'll keep this on you."

 

[FaeWhisperer]

“Kill everyone?” He had asked, his voice filled with confusion, he was baffled at the question. “Why would they even think that? Do they think that I am some unjust ruler—“ he trailed off as Morana continued to explain herself. He felt her squeeze his hand tighter, and he watched her face. The eyes that he had longed to see once again were right in front of him, and he knew that he wouldn’t be able to remember how they looked ever again once she left.

At least, that is what he thought until Morana mentioned the charm he held would prevent him from forgetting her.

And then when he had asked to go back with her— his words and voice full of pleading—was met with her shaking her head. And to top it all off he had watched her avoid his gaze, his heart broke further knowing she was deliberately avoiding from looking into his eyes. Telling him he couldn’t follow her, that she wouldn’t know what her mother would do once she found out—He couldn’t help but blink away the tears that came, a shuddering breath left him as he gazed away, and then looking back at her briefly. He was about to protest further, until she met with his gaze once more. Hearing her tell him that she promised he wouldn’t lose her again as long as he had the charm, he gave a breath of relief.

Theo moved his hand with hers, placing the charm over his chest, his face coming down and placing his forehead against hers. “I promise to keep it with me—“ he began, closing his eyes. “I know it is not wise for me to keep you here…and I should not follow you,” he paused before saying— “but, come and visit whenever you are able to, whenever it is safe for you to do so,” he pulled away and looked down at her. “That is a direct order from your king.”

He didn’t want to let her go. Someone who he had cherished and held close to his heart for so long was now finally back within his reach. He wished he could stop time longer, and prevent her from leaving him.