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So, if Edarial wasn't sure that his wife hated him before, he's really, really sure of it now. It's pretty usual that if they're in the same room, he feels nothing but silent, seething hostility from her. Usually, his reaction to this is a poker face followed by running. He doesn't like having someone hostile just - there at the dinner table, glaring at him with her hissing familiar.
Zevros doesn't hate him, Edarial's certain of it, but he's not helping. He's literally never seen his twin this angry before. This is coming from someone who has seen his twin be angry loads of times. At meals, he just - sits there. Stabbing his food and glaring at Edarial while he does it. He gets why, he knows that Zevros is furious with him for the whole 'cold political marriage' thing. It still hurts, though, to have his immediate family just be so openly hostile.
He gets more withdrawn. Meals get delivered to his room rather than him eating with Iobel and Zevros right there, being near-openly hostile. He stops sparring with Zevros nearly entirely, spends an unhealthy amount of time in either his office or his room, and Berathyme spends all her time coiled around his shoulders, offering what little comfort she can.
She's pretty terrible at advice, but at least he has someone that doesn't actively hate him nearby.
He throws himself into being a king, gets lots of things done, and is generally considered by the public to be good at it. A good king. It's sort of tainted by bitterness, now. But the country does not fall apart, it does not break down into civil war - he handles it. The education system gets a shove in the right direction, the canals get cleaned up, various unemployed people get jobs. He wonders what on earth he's done wrong when he's doing good in the world, but he supposes it doesn't matter.
He knew what he was getting himself into, when he made this choice. He knew that Zevros would be upset with him. Maybe to the point where their camaraderie will just never recover. He doesn't know. From the beginning, he knew that he'd be shackled to someone he doesn't love. Edarial hadn't been expecting the random hatred from his new wife, but he certainly wasn't expecting to be happy.
Just, well. He wasn't expecting to be so miserable, either.
It shows, the misery. Dark circles under his eyes, the withdrawn, blank expression, unkempt hair. He loses some weight due to skipping meals just to avoid his close family. Or, other times, he just forgets, burying himself in work so he doesn't have to think 'What did I do?' over and over again.
But he's a good king. So that's something.
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royal_obligation
royal_obligation
"I don't know?"
He sounds so pathetic when he says that, like - like he's just given up hope and wants to curl up and cry.
He sounds so pathetic when he says that, like - like he's just given up hope and wants to curl up and cry.
come_midnight
"According to what selection process? Nataliem can be locked up. But I doubt even if you were doing your due diligence for once you'd detect every minor noble whose - parents were pressuring them to try to marry you, or whatever. For that matter, did I really earn my tiara on the basis of that survey, it was a reasonably well-made survey, how good was second place?"
royal_obligation
Edarial gives her a hurt look at 'for once' but doesn't protest it.
"Second place," he says, "was not terrible, but not particularly good, either."
"Second place," he says, "was not terrible, but not particularly good, either."
royal_pain
Zevros returns, a little while later. "Okay, let's go kick ass. Edarial, you're my backup."
royal_obligation
"... I may not be up for that, at the moment," whispers Edarial. His voice wavers, a little.
He's shaking. Months of misery have not left him very sturdy.
He's shaking. Months of misery have not left him very sturdy.
come_midnight
"I have a forty-one second knockout spell. If it were faster I could've got Cricket out when I first tried. Will that do?"
royal_pain
"Sure," shrugs Zevros. "You can come too."
He looks at his brother. "Suck it up, Daisy."
He looks at his brother. "Suck it up, Daisy."
royal_pain
"Suck. It. Up. Don't act like you fucking can't, you're the smart diplomatic one and I need you."
come_midnight
Iobel gets up, Cricket draped 'round her shoulders. "Let me know when to start charging."
royal_pain
"Yup. Nataliem's the problem, his goonies are shit if we get some guards to help us out. Don't waste your spells."
He eyes Edarial. "... I'll let you know when to charge, both of you. Ari, know where the bastard is?"
He eyes Edarial. "... I'll let you know when to charge, both of you. Ari, know where the bastard is?"
royal_obligation
"He's got a house in this city, if he's in the city it would be there."
royal_pain
"Okay. Meet me at the gate, both of you - Ari, get your sword, Iobel, uh... Do whatever it is you do when you're going to go attack a spellbinder. I'm going to go round people up."
Off he goes, to do that.
Off he goes, to do that.
come_midnight
"Do you know anything about what spells he knows? I can be invisible if I'm not going to be doing much else and he might not notice me."
royal_obligation
"No idea," says Edarial. "But I'm treating it as 'he should not get any spells off' - they could be lethal."
come_midnight
"I'll turn invisible, then. Lasts an hour, should be plenty of time."
royal_obligation
"Yeah. Do it when we're closer, though."
Edarial doesn't even remember where his sword is. He takes a few seconds to think, puts its most likely location as being in his room, and then heads off in that direction.
Edarial doesn't even remember where his sword is. He takes a few seconds to think, puts its most likely location as being in his room, and then heads off in that direction.
come_midnight
Iobel goes to the gate, Cricket left safely behind so she doesn't have to blow two spells on the invisibility.
royal_obligation
Yup, that's his sword, all right. Edarial has a short argument with Berathyme on whether she's coming or not - she wins, and thus is joining him.
Off to the gate.
Off to the gate.