flora
Flora hears it—the regret, the way it sits in Soh’s voice and spills across her face—but it doesn’t quite land the way it’s meant to, not fully, not cleanly. Because just because it came out wrong doesn’t mean it wasn’t something real underneath, does it? If it wasn’t what she meant, why did it sound like that? So she goes quiet instead, swallowing hard, her gaze dropping to where their hands are still linked as Soh stumbles through the explanation.
"I’ve never had to take care of you," Flora says finally, her voice smaller than before, softer in a way that feels like something folding in on itself. Her fingers shift slightly in Soh’s, not pulling away, just...adjusting, like she doesn’t quite know what to do with them anymore. She shakes her head faintly, eyes still lowered. "Everything I’ve ever done, you’ve been right there to help me," she adds, the words coming slow, careful, like she’s trying to lay them out properly even as they start to blur together. "So everything I have to give, it’s all already yours." Flora wouldn't have had the Hanged Man without Soh's support, probably wouldn't have become queen. Wouldn't have been strong enough to leave Jack, to choose Kaisel, to become who she was now without the Luminary at her side.
Her throat tightens, and she lets out a breath that doesn’t quite steady her, her gaze flicking up for a second before dropping again. "You helped me build Wildering House..." she says, trailing off, because the more she tries to explain it, the worse it feels, like she’s somehow cheapening it by having to justify it at all, like saying it out loud turns it into something transactional when it never was.
The silence stretches for a second before she exhales again, her shoulders lifting faintly before falling. "You’ve never not been able to take care of yourself," she says quietly, the words landing with a kind of tired certainty, like she doesn’t understand how Soh can see it any other way, like she doesn’t understand how any of this got twisted into something else at all and some dark and perhaps unfair part of her wonders about the timing of Sohalia second guessing her entire life just as Zavien had entered into it.
Flora sighs then, the sound soft but heavy, like something settling whether she wants it to or not, her grip on Soh’s hand tightening just slightly before easing again. "But yeah...I mean.." Her voice falters for a second, then steadies just enough. "Obviously I’ll be here for you. Whatever you decide to do."
"I’ve never had to take care of you," Flora says finally, her voice smaller than before, softer in a way that feels like something folding in on itself. Her fingers shift slightly in Soh’s, not pulling away, just...adjusting, like she doesn’t quite know what to do with them anymore. She shakes her head faintly, eyes still lowered. "Everything I’ve ever done, you’ve been right there to help me," she adds, the words coming slow, careful, like she’s trying to lay them out properly even as they start to blur together. "So everything I have to give, it’s all already yours." Flora wouldn't have had the Hanged Man without Soh's support, probably wouldn't have become queen. Wouldn't have been strong enough to leave Jack, to choose Kaisel, to become who she was now without the Luminary at her side.
Her throat tightens, and she lets out a breath that doesn’t quite steady her, her gaze flicking up for a second before dropping again. "You helped me build Wildering House..." she says, trailing off, because the more she tries to explain it, the worse it feels, like she’s somehow cheapening it by having to justify it at all, like saying it out loud turns it into something transactional when it never was.
The silence stretches for a second before she exhales again, her shoulders lifting faintly before falling. "You’ve never not been able to take care of yourself," she says quietly, the words landing with a kind of tired certainty, like she doesn’t understand how Soh can see it any other way, like she doesn’t understand how any of this got twisted into something else at all and some dark and perhaps unfair part of her wonders about the timing of Sohalia second guessing her entire life just as Zavien had entered into it.
Flora sighs then, the sound soft but heavy, like something settling whether she wants it to or not, her grip on Soh’s hand tightening just slightly before easing again. "But yeah...I mean.." Her voice falters for a second, then steadies just enough. "Obviously I’ll be here for you. Whatever you decide to do."
Bad, bad boy, shiny toy with a price
You know that I bought it
You know that I bought it
