sox
آزادی
ah, just in time for some indigestion...
knox.
“i… i understand... where you are coming from.”
knox's gaze snapped up to where sybil stood with her frustrations written all over her pinchhed expression, his eyebrows shooting upwards in surprise at her accommodating response to his clumsy rationale. while he certainly hadn't expected her to be unreasonable in the face of compelling logic, one could only give so much benefit of the doubt to their assailant before making a fool of oneself.
"i hate being useless, and i fear my presence on this trip was just that.”
he replied after a long moment of contemplation, a myriad of sentiments he couldn't quite put into words dancing on the tip of his tongue yet unable to escape his lips.
"your presence on this trip wasn't to gauge your usefulness. i brought you along to experience the festival."
'you're not equipped to handle humans like her yet... there are better ways to use your strengths... no mission is more important than your health...'
all things better left unsaid, he reckoned.
"sleep on the floor if you want, but this bed is perfectly big enough to accommodate us both.”
with her begrudging permission to stay at the inn, the tension finally seeped out of the captain's shoulders like smoke from a freshly doused wick, exhaustion weighing heavy on his eyelids as he removed his business casual garments save for the undershirt and pants and crawled under the covers at long last. without so much as a 'goodnight'— par for the course, really— sybil began her slumber peacefully, leaving him behind in the waking world as a million curiosities and considerations circled his skull regarding the events that had transpired that day. it wasn't until he had mentally pieced together some semblance of a plan going forward that he finally gave in to the fatigue, content to drift off into the abyss once more.
.
despite only managing to sneak in a few solid hours of shut-eye, the prince's internal clock guaranteed that he was wide awake and dressed by the time most festival-goers recovered from their hangovers enough to step a foot outside of their rooms. sybil's unconscious, vice-like grip on his bicep throughout the night certainly hadn't helped his case either, given how lightly he already tended to sleep in the first place before this new variable was factored into the equation.
curse his circadian rhythm, truly— at least he didn't look nearly as weary as he felt.
"ah, what a lovely day for a betrothal!"
rafael's gratingly chipper voice sounded over knox's shoulder, catching his attention from where he sat slouched in the inn's foyer nursing a mug of dark roast in a last-ditch attempt to alleviate the dark circles forming under his eyes. "i offer my sincerest congratulations to the groom."
"like hell you do,"
knox spat back in annoyance, swiping at rafael's smug face but just barely missing as his target stepped back in time with a hearty chuckle. "if you don't have what i asked for, you can fuck right off."
rafael's exuberant laughter prattled on for a second longer before he bothered to collect himself enough to drop a raven-hued, velvet ring case into the captain's lap.
"here, jackass— a walking death wish, as commissioned of yours truly."
knox snapped open the box to examine the newly crafted engagement ring, a glimmering, oval black sapphire set delicately atop a pristine gold band. on the surface, the odd choice of gem seemed to be nothing more than the unconventional whims of a wealthy prince; when the gem caught the light at just the right angle to reveal the chilling insignia underneath, however...
"turns out you're good for something after all."
"oh, hell no, don't start having expectations of me now—"
barely avoiding the second flying fist, rafael scurried off in a renewed fit of cackles to return to the festival before his grumpy boss could sneak in any more favor requests. knox merely scoffed at his first mate's eagerness to drink himself stupid so early in the morning and pocketed the box for safekeeping. the odds of anyone aside from salona's most elite nobles recognizing the insignia were slim to none, and even if natasha somehow subverted his expectations and pieced together his true intentions, it would already be too late to back out of his previously innocuous addition to the contract.
only once he'd inhaled his first serving of coffee and moved onto the second did sybil grace the lobby with her presence, startling him out of his state of rumination as he briefly glanced at his watch to check the time. assuming she'd already stopped by the kitchen to grab a bite to fill her stomach before meeting him by the door, they had just enough wiggle room to make the journey to the rendezvous location at a comfortable pace.
"morning,"
he greeted coarsely, the trepidation from last night nowhere to be found as he met her eyes and flashed his usual, confident smile. it seemed the color had thankfully long since returned to her cheeks after the incident yesterday, a welcome relief to the captain who suddenly found the subtle softness of her sharp features to be rather endearing now that they'd grown just the tiniest bit closer. "you must've slept well. have you eaten?"
coded by reveriee.
Last edited: