She had never been a dreamer. Even when she was young her head had never been filled with impossible hopes or delighted whims or wild imaginings of the future. Her mind had been grounded in a way her body never had. Perhaps the very juxtaposition that kept her from finding what she was looking for.
Until now, though she hardly dares believe it.
Though she cannot quite fathom the weight of an entire kingdom upon his shoulders, she can see the way it bears down on him all the same. She may not have been suckled on dreams and hopes as a child, but now, a grown woman, she finds herself with a new and wholly unexpected dream. She is not built to withstand the weight of a whole nation’s expectations, but she could bear the weight of one man.
As she presses closer, her lips seeking the warmth of his skin, she stills when he speaks.His words catch her off guard, causing her dark eyes to lift to his with sudden uncertainty, a faint frown tugging at her lips. She cannot quite imagine the way he had seen her. She feels much too solid and real, her hooves planted firmly on the dark loam of the Taiga. She certainly does not feel like the sky - so distant and cold - here as she is, warmed by his embrace.
So she leans in, impossibly close, as though they might be able to share the same skin if only she moved close enough. Her mouth finds his neck again, words soft and muffled against him. “I have never felt stuck when I’m with you.”
And it is the truth. He never tried to tether her here, and in so many ways, it is what kept her coming back. The bone-deep knowledge that the choice is hers - that it had always been hers. And she would keep choosing him, for as long as he let her make the choice.
Once again, in this moment of shared heat, she chooses him, giving herself completely over to him in the most visceral of ways.
- noel
@[Nashua]