you hate the crash, but you love the rush
Flora's smile falters slightly at the question, like sunlight momentarily dimmed by a passing cloud, her eyes flickering down to the shortbread between her fingers. For a second, she debates the easy way out—a polite lie, something quick and breezy, the sort of response expected of a queen. But this isn't Torchline, and Theea doesn't seem like she's asking just to fish for a bit of gossip.
So instead, Flora exhales softly, shoulders dipping beneath the gentle weight of the girl's kindness. "You could say that," she admits, quiet enough that the words seem absorbed by the floating river's murmur overhead. "It's sort of... complicated? I mean, what isn't?" She attempts a small laugh, though it barely lifts from her chest before fading into silence.
Her gaze shifts back up to meet Theea's, vulnerable yet defiant—tired but still fighting. "I tried to do the right thing, and it kind of blew up in my face. And now I'm just... trying to figure out how to deal with it." Flora shrugs gently, forcing another bite of the shortbread, as though its sweetness might mend something deeper within her. "I'm the Flora Vox mentioned in his last broadcast. I...let Dahlia infect me in exchange for a piece of her that I could use to protect Torchline against her. What she didn't know was that I had a rose all lined up to cure me with and letters sent out with instructions on how to do it, but lets just say that my co-ruler and boyfriend were less than pleased with my plan." With a sigh, the queen shakes her head. "One is furious with me, and the other just...left." She'd leave it to Theea to guess which was which.
"But hey," she adds, rallying a little, attempting a brighter tone and almost succeeding, "I guess that's just life. Even queens don't get a pass on heartache, right?"
So instead, Flora exhales softly, shoulders dipping beneath the gentle weight of the girl's kindness. "You could say that," she admits, quiet enough that the words seem absorbed by the floating river's murmur overhead. "It's sort of... complicated? I mean, what isn't?" She attempts a small laugh, though it barely lifts from her chest before fading into silence.
Her gaze shifts back up to meet Theea's, vulnerable yet defiant—tired but still fighting. "I tried to do the right thing, and it kind of blew up in my face. And now I'm just... trying to figure out how to deal with it." Flora shrugs gently, forcing another bite of the shortbread, as though its sweetness might mend something deeper within her. "I'm the Flora Vox mentioned in his last broadcast. I...let Dahlia infect me in exchange for a piece of her that I could use to protect Torchline against her. What she didn't know was that I had a rose all lined up to cure me with and letters sent out with instructions on how to do it, but lets just say that my co-ruler and boyfriend were less than pleased with my plan." With a sigh, the queen shakes her head. "One is furious with me, and the other just...left." She'd leave it to Theea to guess which was which.
"But hey," she adds, rallying a little, attempting a brighter tone and almost succeeding, "I guess that's just life. Even queens don't get a pass on heartache, right?"
