Thinking, Writing (open)

[Emilian Sota]

"He is intrigued by her," Emilian said, fully aware that they were speaking of him, but he continued speaking about the 'warrior' in her story. "He is drawn to her pure innocence, seeing it as a beautiful thing and yet wanting to shake her and show her how the world really is." While he spoke he looked away from her, not meeting her eyes any more, "He is more confused by why she is drawn to him than the other way around."

[Adara Snow]

Adara gave Emilian's words the momentary silence they deserved. "Perhaps, then, they can only continue as they are," she said at last. "But perhaps the princess is stronger than she seems..." In the story, of course, she was, but as for Adara... Emilian made her feel strong and weak by turns, sometimes all at once, like now. But how could she tell him such a thing without frightening him? She had recognized his fear last time they met, and it had startled her. She wanted to soothe that fear, if at all possible.

Adara closed her eyes, approaching her secret place if only fractionally, taking courage from it. "She wants to see," Adara murmured. "She dreams of leaving the castle walls and following her warrior into battle, but she is afraid, deathly afraid. She knows that once she has left, she will never be allowed to return. Curiosity is her one sin, and she cannot let it go."

[Emilian Sota]

Emilian chanced another look at her, to see her eyes closed, he was safe to watch her again. "Perhaps this warrior isn't what he seems. Perhaps the princess will find out that he has been using her the entire time they've known each other, with one goal. Perhaps, the only thing that he can ever think of is how to further manipulate her in order to completely destroy the innocence she has, both mentally and physically."

Perhaps the both of them had been giving the warrior too much credit, and he truly was just a madman with a sick mission. "Could it be that his deepest wish is to ravish her so thoroughly that she doesn't even know who she is anymore?"

[Adara Snow]

Adara's chin lowered, and her brows knitted a moment before she shook her head lightly. "He cannot use her," she argued. "She gives herself freely, and without reservation. She expects nothing in return, and so everything that is lost, she cannot regret."

Adara chewed her lip a moment, debating Emilian's final comment, finding without difficulty the reference to rape she had heard so many times before. It was difficult, something that she could not quite picture, that she had nothing to compare to. "He could not take what she already longs to give him. If he hurts her, she cannot fault him. He offered her nothing more than a way out of her gilded prison."

Adara pulled a sharp breath, her brows knitting again as she pushed aside emotion, letting her mind fade farther away. "She prays that he will wait, but knows that with each meeting, her chances lessen."

[Emilian Sota]

Emilian looked out over the lake again. His breathing wasn't as smooth as it had been at the beginning of their conversation, due in part by his heart beating erratically in his chest, his blood pulsing through his veins. "He cannot wait, not so long as she wants him to. He knows how close he has come, each time stopping for a reason he didn't understand. And every time he thinks of those instances a dull ache comes over him, starting in the pit of his stomach.

And every time that ache gets worse. And every time he sees her that ache becomes nearly unbearable, and yet.....and yet he can't bring himself to take what he so desperately wants." He ended quietly, his lips barely moving and the words barely audible.

[Adara Snow]

"Why?" Adara breathed the word, unaware even that it had left her lips. She was losing herself in the story, slowly losing touch with reality, though she had to hold on to speak, to listen. "It is all too much. He is darkness, but to her, he is the sun, and she fears being burned, even as she reaches out to touch him. She feels his pain as deeply as her own; she knows, but cannot give him up, cannot make herself push him away. He is more real to her than anything. She cannot go back..."

[Emilian Sota]

"He is not the sun. He is a black hole, drawing all of the light, all of the joy, from around him into him. When someone comes in contact with him, they will try their hardest to get away, but he will succeed in keeping a part of them with him forever. They will lose a part of themselves that they will never get back." Emilian lay back on the ground, staring blankly up into the sky, his hands behind his head. He became silent, thinking, remembering. It wasn't regret that he felt, something else, most certainly, but regret? No.

[Adara Snow]

"Is there a limit that one might give? He does not understand; what she gives is his to keep. She knows that there is danger in holding him too close, but the danger is not what he believes it to be; without her permission, the most he can take is her body, leaving her soul intact unless she chooses to give a part of it to him. Why can he not conceive of one taking joy in that giving? Does he fear losing himself as well?" Adara's mind had retreated, leaving her in a state near self-induced hypnosis. She was safe there, to think of things which were forbidden, to argue without fear of consequence. Her voice remained soft and level as she sifted objectively through motive and emotion.

[Emilian Sota]

"Why would she choose to give him part of her? Why would anyone choose to give anything of themselves to another person?" With the question there was the chance to move away from speaking purely of the warrior and the princess, though with how Adara was acting, Emilian thought she may just ignore it and continue speaking about the characters. "It doesn't make much sense to chance being hurt."

[Adara Snow]

"Why would anyone choose to isolate themselves from life? Without joy and pain, there is no life, only existence." Adara's eyes fluttered open, but she did not look at Emilian, focusing somewhere beyond the lake, where only she could see. "The princess is tired of only existing. Is not the warrior as well?"

[Emilian Sota]

Emilian watched her, "The warrior has had enough pain in his life, he doesn't want to risk going through more. He has joy, be it a perverse joy, but it is the only joy he knows." He was quiet for a few moments as he traced her body with his eyes. "Perhaps this princess could...." he trailed off and looked away, refusing to finish his sentence.

[Adara Snow]

Adara blinked, her eyes focusing suddenly on the lake as she smiled. Emilian's half-spoken suggestion had brought her back to reality with a snap. For all his frustration, for all the hard words and cold looks, he had pushed himself far harder than he had pushed her. "She will," Adara said. "When it feels right for her, she will give herself completely, but you must keep in mind that she is unused to change, much like warrior is unused to bending."

[Emilian Sota]

"Perhaps the warrior is tired of waiting, of stopping in hopes of a reward later on." Because that reward seemed to be getting farther and farther out of his grasp. Emilian's eyes wandered over her, settling on the side of her face, the only part he could really see from his angle.

[Adara Snow]

"And yet he waits," Adara said. She looked down at her hands, resting patiently against the book on her lap. "If he feels impatient with the princess..." Adara paused, unsure what to say, but pushing through all the same. "He has given her little chance to grow. When he does not see immediate change, he retreats. If he looks at the whole, he will see that she has grown, and certainly faster than she ever would have believed possible." She chewed her lip a moment in indecision before going on. "Perhaps it might occur to him that guidance is more effective than..." She raised her hands, gesturing as she searched for the right word, but unable to find it.

[Emilian Sota]

Emilian sat up and turned to her, leaning on one arm. "Than force?" he leaned closer to her, "Than seduction? If the warrior knew what kind of guidance his princess wanted, then perhaps he could try." Emilian would certainly try, if it were a particular kind of guidance she wanted. He barely noticed the possessive 'his' he had used in the sentence, though he did feel an odd sense of something like ownership for Adara.