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Post by Jack on Jun 7, 2008 12:13:56 GMT -5
Jack nodded slightly, contemplating, a life like that would drive him insane. "With all that time to study you must be very intelligent," he commented. "Do you have to stay in your tower forever? Or may you leave once you're of age?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. He could only assume that she'd be allowed to leave, once she reached that age, who could keep her?
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Post by Princess on Jun 7, 2008 12:22:33 GMT -5
There was a question which was more difficult to answer. Should she reveal the truth behind herself in the guise of the Princess? Or should she keep to the story alone? And at what point in her story or her life should she settle on? The Princess pondered for one brief moment, then parted her lips and spoke.
"I was to be kept in my tower until the day my husband was decided upon. Then I would pass into his care, and the rest would follow as he willed. But my mother died, and my father remarried. His new wife believed, or so she convinced my father, that I would be more marriagable if I were exposed, for the remainder of my schooling, to a greater variety of people. And so I will be leaving one castle for another, and given that brief chance to choose my own path. The idea of such freedom is staggering."
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Post by Jack on Jun 7, 2008 12:29:24 GMT -5
"Ah, but freedom," Jack smiled and looked off into the crowd for a moment. "The freedom to do as you please, without anyone to tell you it isn't appropriate, it is like living in paradise." That was something he was just beginning to experience, for so long he had worried, had lived in fear of the consequences of his actions. But now, he had finally learned to do what he wanted, and it was exhilarating.
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Post by Princess on Jun 7, 2008 12:48:02 GMT -5
The Princess watched Jack's eyes as he spoke, watched them when he had finished, and thought of his words. They seemed far deeper than a mere story, and her interest grew at that knowledge. Who was he that their histories had such strange elements in common? "Perhaps one day I will learn," she assured Jack, "but now, without knowing, having lived my life within those walls, the freedom is terrifying. Having been guided in all things for so long, how am I to know what is truth and what is not?" It was a question she had struggled with, still struggled with, to be truthful.
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Post by Jack on Jun 7, 2008 12:57:45 GMT -5
"Well, you don't," Jack said, looking back down at her. "You just have to trust your heart and learn." Learn through the mistakes and the lies. He examined her face, trying to figure out who she was. He felt like he knew most of the people in the school, but he couldn't for the life of him place her. "Sometimes the the things that terrify us are the ones that are the best for us."
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Post by Princess on Jun 7, 2008 13:08:53 GMT -5
The Princess's eyes searched Jack's, wondering at the chance that had thrown them together, wondering at the emotional connection that seemed to be growing so easily between them. That ease was something she had never found elsewhere, and it was unsettling, if only because they seemed to encroach on thoughts of the other, the one who was hers. "Do you truly believe that?" she asked, letting the question shine in her eyes as true curiosity. It was a question that affected much in her life, beyond the ball, into her deepest and most profound thoughts.
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Post by Jack on Jun 7, 2008 13:18:23 GMT -5
Jack was silently checking off people as he tried to pinpoint who she was. He enjoyed speaking to her, enjoyed the conversation which had come to them so easily. "Most certainly, leaving home to be a pirate was terrifying and exhilarating, but leaving my old life was the best thing I ever did for myself." He searched her eyes, "Still afraid?" he asked, his own eyes sparkling.
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Post by Princess on Jun 7, 2008 13:26:55 GMT -5
"Sometimes I am," the Princess said honestly. She let the game slip ever slightly, revealing, if he wanted to see it, that her story was not all fiction. "It is exhilarating, heady, intoxiacting," she told him. "And yet, if I could choose to go back, I would refuse. I could not forget, and I would not wish to."
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Post by Jack on Jun 7, 2008 13:36:50 GMT -5
"It's worth it," Jack said, noticing the slight change in her manner. "I'll tell you a secret," he said, leaning in a little towards her ear. "Even Pirates are afraid sometimes." He pulled back, grinning mischievously, "Just don't tell my mates," he asked, eyes sparkling. "I'd never live it down." He generally didn't tell that he was afraid at times, but under the disguise, everything came easier.
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Post by Princess on Jun 7, 2008 13:45:59 GMT -5
The Princess's lips curved softly, her eyes shining at his humor, at his confidence. "Your secret is safe," she murmured, only loud enough to be heard above the music because they were so close. Their revolutions around the dance floor were so strikingly natural that she had almost forgotten, though with the moment of sharing such intimacies, she was recalled to the warmth of his hands, and she blushed, then dropped her gaze. "Courage is not the absence of fear," she recited, drawing strength from the wisdom of the words. "It is the ability to face one's fear, and to do what must be done in the face of it."
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Post by Jack on Jun 7, 2008 18:56:18 GMT -5
Jack nodded, "That is what they say. That without fear there is no courage." He had heard the saying plenty of times, it had been hard to accept. Because the people that were courageous seemed to have no fear, and the ones that were so very afraid never had the courage to do anything.
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Post by Princess on Jun 7, 2008 19:03:25 GMT -5
"It is true," the Princess said knowledgeably, lifting her chin to look into Jack's eyes and wondering again why they had never before spoken. "I have discovered courage only since...only recently," she corrected herself, glancing away. "I believe that courage is only drawn from us when faced with things that are truly important to us. Even a coward has something which will prompt him to stand his ground." Her eyes met his again, knowing some of the things that brought such a reaction from her, and wondering at his own. Had he discovered them?
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Post by Jack on Jun 7, 2008 19:09:58 GMT -5
"Since you left your castle?" he asked, then looked off into the distance, thinking about her words. Jack didn't think that many of the things he had done were all that courageous, though he could pinpoint a couple big ones, both of which made him smile when they crossed his mind. He soon became lost in thought, not realizing that he should have said something else in response to her words.
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Post by Princess on Jun 7, 2008 19:14:44 GMT -5
The Princess's lips curved at the hazy gleam in Jack's eyes. She could see that her words had affected him, perhaps reminded him of those things which made him courageous, daring. She left him to his thoughts for a short time as they revolved around the floor, her smile one of secretive knowledge. "You are a thoughtful pirate," she said at last, her eyes glittering up at him.
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Post by Jack on Jun 7, 2008 19:23:02 GMT -5
Jack was pulled from his thoughts to look down at the princess and see her smile, matching it with one of his own. "Perhaps I have a lot to think about," he said, his eyes sparkling right along with hers. "Are Pirates not allowed to be thoughtful?" he asked, a teasing note in his voice.
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