(We stan)
Amethyst stared at the sky for a little longer and blinked a few times. Wait, what? When she looked back at the woman, her cheeked were flushed red. She wasn’t used to anyone calling her pretty, and she especially wasn’t used to it sounding so genuine. She took a moment to process her words, then smiled just a bit. “Oh… thank you,” she mumbled shyly. She looked away slightly, trying to hide her blush to no avail. “You… uh, you’re really pretty, too.” What am I doing? I’m letting my guard down too much!
Cleopatra grinned at the redness spreading across the woman’s face. It was a pleasing addition to her pale skin. The queen made it her personal goal to get this woman to blush often. She looked positively beautiful.
“You’re welcome,” Cleopatra replied. Though the follow-up comment caught her off guard. Pretty. She was… pretty.
The ruthless queen who conquered nations and brought monarchs to their knees before her. The seductive queen who had taken countless lovers in her bed. The queen who had been showered in various praises her entire life. Gorgeous, stunning, sexy, radiant, beautiful. But to this woman, she was pretty. And that meant much more than Cleopatra would have thought it did.
She couldn’t even come up with her natural response to any compliment about her appearance. Instead, she simply blurted, “Thank you.”
(Ack- I’m sorry, im spending a few days at a friend’s house and I already forgot about this- if I don’t respond in a week just bump me again)
(You're fine! Don't worry about it. Have fun with your friend :))
(Alright I’m back so now I am legally obligated to respond to this, sorry if it’s kind of shitty I’m still a bit sleep deprived)
Amethyst smiled even more at the woman’s response. She laughed a little and looked up at her. “You’re welcome.” Am I going too far? She’d tell me, right? Yeah, probably.
Amethyst looked at the sky again, absentmindedly trying to fix her hair a little. It was always a wreck, but she normally didn’t care about it as much. For some reason, she just wanted to look like she actually had her shit together for once. Probably to make a good impression on this woman who she had just met.
Cleopatra's normally confident composure weakened at the pureness of this woman. She breathed a whisper of a laugh and continued to watch the girl as she looked back up at the sky. Again, the queen didn't give a damn about the stars. She was completely transfixed by the woman beside her. The most powerful, authoritative, merciless woman on the continent… and she was bewitched by a stranger.
"What's your name?" she asked gently.
Amethyst kept on staring at the sky, staying silent for a while before finally answering the woman’s question. “My name is Amethyst. Amethyst Knight.” She glanced over at her, then finished fixing her hair and properly looked at her, and most of her anxiety seemed to have gone away by now. “What about you?” She asked, tilting her head slightly.
Cleopatra watched the woman fixing her hair repeatedly. So on instinct, she reached out and smoothed back the woman’s dark hair. “You look stunning,” she murmured absently. “Your hair is fine.”
Her eyes drifted to the woman’s face, studying her again as she spoke. “Amethyst is a beautiful name. Fitting for a beautiful woman.”
But she paused hesitantly at the question coming back to her. Would Amethyst look at her differently if she knew her identity? Cleopatra already knew the answer to that question. Instead, she answered with a faint smile and a shake of her head. “I don’t think you want to know my name, darling.”
Amethyst tensed a little as the nameless woman smoothed back her hair. She forced herself to relax a few moments after, looking slightly frustrated with herself. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then looked up at her again as she complimented her once more. She ducked her head slightly and smiled, blushing even more.
Amethyst looked confused and a little disappointed when the woman didn’t say her name. She didn’t want to push, though. She simply nodded in response. “Okay, then.”
Cleopatra only smoothed Amethyst’s hair once before pulling her hand back. She didn’t want any of her rings to catch in her hair, and the queen noticed the way that she tensed. Not a fan of being touched. At least not being touched out of nowhere by a stranger. Cleopatra was glad she decided not to advance on this girl. Especially as she watched the myriad of expression play across her face.
Though she was surprised by how easily Amethyst accepted not knowing her name. But Cleopatra couldn’t remember the last time she had met someone who didn’t already know who she was or her extensive reputation.
“I’m sorry, my dear,” she murmured, noting the disappointment on the girl’s face. “I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough. In the meantime… you may call me Tryphaena, if you wish.” It was a risky bet, selecting her own mother’s name as her false identity. But if Amethyst indeed figured it out, Cleopatra would explain.
Amethyst fidgeted slightly as she listened to the woman speak, tilting her head. “It’s alright. There must be a good reason for you to hide your identity.” She furrowed her brows a little as she introduced a false name. Tryphaena. It’s certainly an interesting name, but it also sounded familiar. Amethyst shrugged it off. It was probably nothing special, if she couldn’t remember. Then again, Tryphaena had seemed surprised when Amethyst didn’t recognize her, so maybe she shouldn’t trust her instincts on it that much.
Cleopatra smiled faintly. “I’m sure you’re quite capable of figuring out who I am, darling. I just wanted a little chase, that’s all,” she teased lightly, adding a visible smile so she could let the other woman know it was only a light-hearted quip.
The queen noticed the expression on the other woman’s face when she processed the fake name. For a second, she worried that girl would guess her right off, and she’d leave. But nothing happened. Cleopatra sighed quietly with relief. “So, what is it that you do, Amethyst?” she asked.
