REXANNA
paint my spirit gold
As Bastien acknowledged her resourcefulness she couldn’t help the grin that formed as he continued. Laughing softly through her nose, she nodded briefly before regaining the same pose. “They throw out so many good things, it’s a shame really.” She added with a knowing look. “Once I wore the same dress and I thought the Queen of Asciend was going to have a heart attack. She demanded I change immediately, even though it had been a year since I wore it last.” She said, smiling a bit at the memory of the woman who was a similar height to she – yet bore the most beautiful white and black wings.When Bastien asked of the magic, she shook her head slightly. Smiling faintly at the response of him saying she wouldn’t be a cruel queen. She had never wanted to be a queen. She would have been content to remain a servant until she took her dying breath – probably would have married the boy a few doors down that cared for the fireplaces. It would have been so different, so much simpler. “Ah, my people didn’t have magic. But the Asciends, my husbands people, were winged and some had magic.” She said briefly, unable to help a small shiver run down her spine. “They pretended that I had magic, would give me tiny fireworks to show the people when they doubted.” She tilted her head slightly but not enough to throw off which part Bastien was working on.
“Though they knew as soon as I ran that I was magicless. Spouted it off as another deceit –” Among many. She almost added. “All I had were my quick feet and my wit. It wasn’t until I came here that I found out I had it and it was real.” She said, glancing back to him with a small grin. But Bastien had finished the painting for the moment, swiveling to where she could see it. At first, she wasn’t certain where to look first. Her eye was drawn immediately to the highlights, to the small halo that crowned her head, and around again while the shadows lead back to the light in great beautiful swoops.
For a moment, she couldn’t say anything. But the smile that grew across her face was the most genuine thing she’d ever done, and she shifted her eyes toward Bastien with a gleam of happiness within them. “It’s amazing Bastien.” She said almost breathlessly, that grin unable to be wiped from her face. “You are an incredible painter.” Her voice was soft, but it rang true. She had the proof in front of her. “I – I don’t know what else to say.” She stumbled over the words with a small laugh. “It’s stunning though, you’ve outdone yourself I think.” Winking to him, she continued to grin.
