theunpressuredclub | (no subject)

It's so different from the Deck.

The city in which Ophelia has helped her set up has nothing of the suffocating smallness that her home has. Nobody here knows entirely who she is except for the small handful of people the Queen had pointed her in the direction of-- and even they only really know her as a Diamond, not necessarily a Suit-switcher. It's refreshing.

It makes it tempting, almost, for her not to come back, regardless of whether or not she decides to raise the child growing inside her-- a decision she's still struggling to make, this far along. Because yes, while she knows the boy (and it's a boy. Edgar would be thrilled, in other circumstances) would remind her almost constantly of his father, she's also not certain if she doesn't want the reminder. She misses Edgar Eicheln, after all.

But missing him certainly does not mean expecting him to show up at the door of the apartment she's staying in. Thank goodness she looked through the peephole before opening it.

It's tempting to not respond to his knock. But she also knows just how resilient he can be if he thinks there's anything like a chance.

There's a crack in her voice as she calls through the door, "Please leave."

Threaded | Flat

It took a lot to leave home. It was excruciatingly painful to hug his brothers goodbye and tell Andrew and Argine not to follow him. But there was nothing else to do.

He needed to see her again. He needed to tell her he had been wrong and that it would be worth the sacrifice of his family to build a life with her. He needed to find her out in the world, because she'd vanished from the Deck almost without a trace.

Ophelia had been kind enough in her own way, but the Queen's loyalty was--rightly--with the young woman who had come to be her own. The Diamonds seal up before him, smiles like masks and shoulders shrugging with practiced helplessness. It's scraps of nothingness he leaves the Deck with at last, and it's a few overwhelming cities he drags through before he comes to the door that finally, finally has her voice coming through from the other side.

She sounds tired. She sounds unhappy. She sounds like she doesn't want to see him, but he can't make himself move away from leaning heavily on the door frame.

"I just want to talk."