her chin rests on his bare shoulder and when he off-handedly likens her to ye women, she plucks his phone right from his hands and tosses it to the foot of the bed with a growl. her head tilts and starlight slips over her side.

a dangerous smile is all the warning he gets before she nips a love bite by his collarbone.

"the ceremony can come later." romanticisms have no place in a region preparing for war. "and besides, i've made my choice and you've made yours, so let's do it. today. and tomorrow? you'll be a free man."

she is at his throat now, lips leaving warm, wet marks between every other word.

"i'll wear my blue dress. the one you like."

KING WAYLAND

☉

her scalp prickles as he pulls. she scrapes her teeth against his lower lip as she goes, eyes narrowing, but her golds are not greeted by blues. instead she is greeted by his breath, hot on her neck, and her lashes flutter.

"is that what you see with me, love? shackles?"

her ankles cross his, fingers draping delicately over his wrists, and she debates turning them into a tangle of limbs, allowing the rest of the day to pass them by. but they do not have days. they do not even have hours. this is the last day she'll have to herself before the preparations begin in earnest. 

"granted," she murmurs, "i am quite possessive."

KING WAYLAND

☉

"that's because i've seen the way she looks at you," she snaps back, annoyed. cassie. she can get king's name right, but she can't get freya's? her councilwoman's?

his hands continue their wandering, but that sort of distraction won't work on her. not here, not now. she tries to withdraw. 

"what, getting cold feet already?"

KING WAYLAND

☉

"it's like i told you before," she says, as patiently as she can, though there is a storm inside of her, "we're running out of time." he's given up the ghost so when she pinches a strand of his hair between her fingers, it's a tender act of affection. 

"when this next part is over, we'll worry about the celebration." a soft smile, kiss upon his knuckles, and then she slips away from him to shrug out of her sweats and into her dress.

"but," she adds as she tugs her hair out from under her neckline, spinning a braid together as she turns, "i was thinking delta could be our flower girl?"

KING WAYLAND

☉

a finished braid falls against her shoulder. she starts on another one, twining lyune's salamencite in a knot around it. a spared glance at their dresser mirror to make sure the plaits are setting nicely, gaze skipping over the exposed burn scar on her shoulders, the silver marks from half a dozen other forgotten battles along her skin.

"she'll understand. she knows i'm not trying to replace her, but maybe you should talk to her. but this...i love you, but you know that this is part of a bigger whole. this is part of clearing your name."

she finishes with her hair and settles on the edge of the bed. "no more looking over your shoulder when you're out with her. no more hiding. no more waiting for the other shoe to drop. and i think...she'll get that. she's smart. too smart for her own good."

KING WAYLAND

☉

her eyes narrow as he sinks back. she looks down at herself, at him still in bed, and then sighs. she stands, moving silently, tucking her hair back so it doesn't drape over him. softly, gently, she presses a kiss to his forehead.

"i'll finish getting ready." she ghosts away, disappearing into the bathroom, leaving the door open just a crack. 

freya scrubs her face and then pauses, cheeks smattered with suds. something glitters in her palm. she squints down at it, brushing away some bubbles, and the trained eye of a dragon tamer spots them immediately for what they are - scales. 

a quick rinse, a frantic pat of the towel on her face, and she leans into the mirror, stretching a patch of skin on her forehead. runs her fingers along it. 

smooth, unblemished (save for a few nicks and scars), human.

anxiety knots in her stomach. did i imagine...?

no. no. today is not about anyone but herself and the man laying in his bed. still, just to be on the safe side, she is meticulous with her foundation. the rest is a ritual she hasn't kept up with for a while - her schedule doesn't afford such vanities - but it's comforting, doing it now.

she pokes her head back out, smiling - "did you want me to do your eyes?"

KING WAYLAND

☉