the way you kiss me will work each time // Chryseis

[Rhaegor]

and I could easily lose my mind; the way you kiss me will work each time
calling me to come back to bed, singing Georgia on my mind

I won't abandon you. They're the last words his sister spoke to him before they left their meeting place in the forest, each of them with a certain kind of warmth growing in their chest at the reminder of the support each held for the other. In Valdis, Rhae sees the spirit of her father and of their shared mother, assuredly stubborn but also caring. She shows her love less than Solace, but its potency and strength matches their mother's stride for stride.

Perhaps this last reminder of love and of optimism is what pushed the prince to make a small adjustment to the path he chooses to return to Tephra, the kingdom he is slowly assimilating into under the careful watch of Magnus. Of course, it would be a lie to say that Valdis is the only woman he has in mind as he treks northwards; a certain blue creature with a nose dipped in gold comes to mind, one whom he hasn't seen since that night at the beach.

Ah, the beach.

Chryseis had been the first to claim her prince, openly showing affection to him and making it known that they might be considered an item. His stomach twists at this thought as he plucks carefully through the forests of Taiga, avoiding other forms of life as well as he can as he makes his way towards Nerine. The arrival of Ivy and of Kensa had been what set the prince off, causing him to high-tail it out of there like an idiot; the presence of Litotes hadn't been helpful either, though he didn't discover exactly why until later on, in Tephra.

The truth, though? He still doesn't know Ivy's name, referring to her mentally as Moondancer - and he could see without even trying that Kensa and Lie had chosen each other. This much is now undeniably true, as he had heard from Solace that the two had been named Ambassador and General of the subkingdom Hyaline. Rising in the ranks where he could claim his birthright, if he wanted to.

But he doesn't want to. All he wants, he realizes as he comes upon the Nerinian border (smelling of salt and of women and of rage), is her.

He considers raising his head and calling, but that would bring too much attention his way; instead, he blinks once and steps across the imaginary line, continuing north in the hopes that he might pick up on her scent, or that she might pick up on his.

What will come after that, exactly, he hasn't dared to imagine; she isn't the type of girl you should ever run away from at parties, and that was exactly what Rhaegor had done.

Rhaegor

@[Chryseis]