He shook his head and answered her question poised at him. He hadn’t been here long, but in comparison she was certain he’d been here longer than she. And she nodded as he picked at the grass and continued to speak. She offered him a smile and agreed. “Most certainly welcome for me.” She admitted, her smile faltering slightly at the thought. But he continued to speak, answering her about her information on the gods. “Where I’m from it was very similar. Here, however, seeing is believing. I don’t believe they’re the only one either. A man I was with spoke of another.” She mentioned, eyes roaming the fields thoughtfully.
But his question was angled at her, and she listened as he continued to speak of being a thief in his own right, and she laughed along with him – the sound bright and charming regardless if he had stopped suddenly. Yet her laughter and smile began to shift as she stared a bit harder into the blades of grass. She wanted to answer him, glancing over to him as he asked if he could draw her and she nodded, clearing her throat to answer him. “I can tell you all of that while you sketch, if you prefer?” She answered, standing up to move against the field backdrop and settling back down in the grasses, allowing him the opportunity to pose her however he wished.
Then, she cleared her throat and inhaled deeply, shooting a glance at his face that made her feel somewhat comfortable in sharing a bit of truth from her past. “Well, I was raised with servants to a kingdom in another world. Our kingdom was at war with the other kingdom to the east, but it had gone on for centuries, so we just figured it wouldn’t ever change. But the threats grew bigger and bigger, and on my eighteenth birthday the king hauled me and my family into a room and basically told me that I was his child from him and his queen who had died a few days after my birth. He told me he hid me away to keep me safe.” She paused, glancing to him to see how he’d receive it. “I didn’t know it at the time, but that wasn’t entirely true. I still have royal blood, but I was an affair between the queen and the warrior general. Anyway,” she paused with a bit of a choked laugh. “I didn’t know that, and instead they had me spend a few months learning the ways of court before having me shipped off to marry the prince of the other kingdom that had threatened us for years.” She began to go a bit slower in her recollections, as if it was difficult for her to recall the happy times she shared there.
“He was kind enough, at first. We were wed when I turned nineteen and we had a decent life at first. Though he always remained curious of my upbringing and why they had suddenly just heard of a royal appearing out of thin air. I didn’t have a good answer for him, I didn’t know any better, but I tried. It didn’t end up being a good enough story when the prince had found a spy from my homeland, making sure I was settling in well enough in the hopes I’d bear a child – only this spy was one that had been there at my birth and knew the true story of it.” She paused once more, turning slightly to look at him fully while she spoke. She wouldn’t mention anything of her pregnancy and what had happened, but instead a more round about truth. “He had me thrown in the dungeon.” She paused once again, refusing to admit the beatings. “I stayed there for a time before he shipped me off to my homeland when he left to claim it. During the process and the destruction of my home, I made my escape. So as you can see, I wasn’t much of a bandit as I was fleeing someone wishing for retribution.” She said with a small sad smile. “My face was very recognizable. He had also… branded me. But, I managed to literally fall into here before he had a chance to find me.” Her eyes remained on his face as she spoke, hoping to catch any information across it. “It’s a very welcome change, I’m sure you can imagine. I’m twenty-five now and ran away when I was twenty-one. I was very good at staying hidden for those years.” She laughed a bit nervously, unsure of why she decided to tell most of her story to this complete stranger.
Maybe it was the kind, solemn looking face. Maybe she had simply bore the brunt and feelings of it for so long that she needed to tell someone.
RexannA
just because you are soft,
doesn't mean you're not a force.
honey and wildfire are both the color gold.
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