She, too, was grateful for the Shaymin's dispelling of this moment between them, its soft mew giving Elisabeth a welcome distance to collect her thoughts.

Shadows were an equal curse and blessing both. Whatever slip in FERNANDO SILPH's mask had shown in the aftermath of their encounter, the night hid it expertly from view. Should the rare twinkle of crystablooms have sought to offer a glimpse of his face, the woman opposite him was far too consumed in her own feelings to give his careful study.

For Elisabeth, the act of intimacy itself was enough to reveal her own shaken composure. Already the heat had begun to fade from where his touch had left hers, and this time, she felt the cool sensation of its absence.

"Elisabeth--"

The blonde started somewhat as he spoke her full name aloud, the sound of it spoken on his lips a reminder of what had transpired between them: no, what had changed between them. No coy deflections could undo what had been done, or more accurately, what she had done.

What roles had they fallen into now? The lonely widow, and the noble idealist? Something in the notion drew a faint smile to her lips, privately amused at the absurdity of it all. Reality painted a far different picture than that fairy tale image: a murderess who could not love, and a chairman infamous for his inability to be chained down.

Still, there was something... nostalgic in indulging the pretense of romance. Hadn't it been a decade since she herself had been the person she now pretended to be? It felt strange, to embody that sort of woman again.

A finger idly spun the golden ring on her left hand, listening in quiet thought as he offered to take her home. To him such an action was undoubtedly insignificant. Something he had offered to many others, many other times, for many more mundane reasons.

"Lilycove and Slateport are far, are they not?" she said at last, turning the full brilliance of her emerald eyes upon him. They held his own dark gaze, their unsaid command finally voiced aloud: "Stay, then. Perhaps your Gracidea may bloom in the morning."

What he made of the significance of her own offer remained to be seen.

Crystals in Bloom ✿ Outfit + Hairstyle ✿ FERNANDO SILPH