Thread: Allegiant [MRAZ and Domovoi]

The traitor's words rung true enough. All too many had made their dive for the throne after her father's passing - some hadn't even had respect enough to wait that long. Claiming it had taken work. Even post-coronation, some claimed her a traitor and recusant for taking the role of queen and demanded she be executed for treason. Treason! In her own state! She couldn't help but snort a laugh at Meike's wording. Even as a girl, she had cared little for etiquette or 'ladylike' manners of speaking, and her familiar vernacular was comforting in this new world of priggish nobility and haughty commoners who thought she would hand them gold at first request and adjusted their speech in poor attempts to match that of the local aristocracy. And what of it?! What of my position?! What of what he wanted for me?! She asked sharply. I don't claim to be the only one who's suffered loss! You're a fool if you think this to be solely about myself. We all suffer now. The entire state grieved my father's death. Now, my people suffer each and every day with an incompetent leader! Her muscles had tensed to the point of pain, and she dared not move for fear her body would give way beneath her. Though she knew Meike was right on some level, and she certainly did understand what had been meant by grieving a lost father, her self-worth had diminished to a grain of salt. It didn't matter whether you fought for something or not, even if you managed to hold your head up the entire time and scoff at naysayers, once you heard so many claim you unfit for something... It stuck. The seed would sprout roots and grow. If left unchecked, the weeds it created suffocated any welcome life around it, and no one had been there to provide the emotional support Lenara had needed to tend that mental garden. Seeing the prisoner's tears wrenched her heart and squeezed it tight. It took a lot to sway emotion from Meike, she knew that. She was a woman born of tempered steel. It only made her own emotions threaten to flow more freely, when she was already struggling to keep herself collected. More frustrating than anything, perhaps, was the effort it took to repeatedly remind herself that this woman in front of her was no longer her ally. No, before her knelt a traitor, shackled as she should be, who had slaughtered countless innocent people and torn her family apart. For all she knew, those tears could be a game, even as unlikely as it seemed for the ex-knight after all, betraying her and murdering her family seemed an unlikely thing for Meike to do, as well. By no means did she not empathize with her old friend the bond between mentor and disciple was unlike any other, especially in the unique situation Sir Leandro and Meike had been in where he'd essentially been her father figure as well as teacher. His death was felt by everyone, however, the honest and reliable man a very valued figure among all of her knights. Head drooping, curtains of blonde hair hid her tear-stained face. Perhaps a trading coin is the extent of my worth, Voice a whimper, she closed her eyes tightly. Even speaking the words felt like a betrayal to her father. Certainly he was thrashing about in his grave as she spoke, ready to scold her to her uncle's state and back for saying something so disrespectful. Taught to have pride in her name, taught that she was to take the throne and lead their people into a brighter future, it was perhaps the worst statement she could make. Do you truly not grasp this? My people face naught but misery. I cannot lead them! I was unready to take my father's place! And now, Uncle, fit to serve in my stead until I was better prepared, is dead! Her voice cracked with nearly every other syllable. Something about the way that Meike spoke so boldly to her, so informally, yet still had the respect to call her 'Your Majesty', twinged her nerves in the worst possible way. Maybe it was because it reminded her of their past, how they had always casually blurred the line between hierarchal ranks. Maybe it was because she was unused to such 'realness' still, her mind chained by other nobility and the protocols typically expected of her. Maybe it was the burning, confusing mixture of love and hatred she felt for the woman in front of her. You weren't there for me... The real pain slipped out at last. When I needed you the most... You weren't there for me... Again she found herself at eye level with her prisoner, though her head was still down - and now buried in her hands. I buried my father alone, Meike! With no one but servants - paid to give a damn about me - at my side! I needed you! I needed you more than anything, and where were you?! Slaughtering my relatives?! Sobbing like a hungry babe wanting to nurse, she collapsed forward with her head on the teal eyed girl's shoulder. It didn't matter if she was a traitor. It didn't matter what she had done. For a moment, just for a moment, she was a child again, and Meike was Meike. Her best friend. Her sister. Her world. Between her pathetic whimpers, she softly squeaked out, How... could you... do that to me?