forum Cinderella AU // OxO // Closed

Started April 17, 2020 by @ElderGod-Icefire

tune

He laughed softly. "It's alright, I get it." he replied, looking at Lloyd. "I don't mind the rambling, really." he ran a hand throguh his hair.

Lloyd nodded and smiled softly as he glanced around the room. "It's not all that bad, I guess… I mean, there is the constant threat of getting assassinated, and I'm not going to be allowed to go outside alone anymore, but I suppose that's alright…"

Ellis frowned. "That…sounds the opposite of alright, but…if you say so." he replied slowly.

Lloyd shrugged a bit. "That's the kind of thing I'm used to worrying about. I mean, yeah… it's a little terrifying to think that there's people actively trying to kill me, but… I dunno."

Ellis nodded slightly. "Yeah. Still. Does Anton know that they might target him too?"

"I'm not sure. I'll talk to him later at some point and I'll have to bring it up… I don't want him to be in the dark about this."

Ellis nodded again. "Yeah. I can get him for you, if you like." he looked down at his hands.

"Well, you can stay here a while longer if you want to… I like talking to you." Lloyd smiled softly.

He smiled back. "Oh. Alright." he replied slowly, ducking his head a little bit.

"You don't have to be afraid to be yourself around me, Ellis. Just because I'm the prince doesn't mean I'm an uptight prick, though Nathaniel would beg to differ." He laughed.

He snorted softly, letting out a quiet laugh. "Right. Sorry." he looked over at Lloyd.

"No problem. I don't want you have to go about in fear of punishment. It's nice to be able to talk to people as equals, you know? We're both human. I don't want to be ordering people around all the time. Sometimes I just want to be able to have an actual conversation with someone."

"Well…actually, you aren't human, but…" he laughed a little bit, smiling softly and gesturing at Lloyd's wings.

"Well, you know what I mean…" Lloyd flushed lightly with a sheepish grin. "We're both people. How's that? Either way, I just want to be able to talk to someone without them cowering in fear…"

He chuckled quietly, and nodded. "Yeah, I get it." he ran a hand through his hair, shrugging his shoulders. "Besides, I'm too small to cower. If I cowered, I'd be tiny."

Lloyd laughed softly as well and started fidgeting with his wings, seeming to be preening them subconsciously as he watched the rain. "I want you to be able to feel comfortable around me, Ellis."

Ellis smiled a little bit. "Well…i am, so. Mission accomplished?"

Lloyd grinned as well. "Mission accomplished. You know, that reminds me of the war days… I was only around fifteen when it started, and yet, there I was. Fighting along the rest of them. Thankfully, I'm pretty decent at fighting, so I survived, but… you know. That kind of thing never leaves you. I'm glad it ended last year. Maybe that's why my parents wanted to go ahead and get me married."

He nodded a little bit. "Yeah." he replied slowly. "Though…I don't understand the choice of Anton. Unless they're trying to groom some more acceptance from the local lords?"

Lloyd shrugged. "I have no idea. I don't get to take part in those sorts of decisions. I'm sure research was done, but I can't be sure. Political, probably…?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah. I'd guess that your father wants to use the marriage with Anton to groom more acceptance and such from smaller or more marginalized groups."

Lloyd nodded a bit and sighed. "It'd be nice to marry for love, hmm…? Unfortunately, that's simply an unachievable fantasy for me. My parents' marriage was arranged, and so it has been for generations back."

He nodded a little bit. "That sucks. I'm sorry." he replied. "But…Anton isn't so bad." Unless you have less power than him, but you're the prince and future king. That'll never be an issue with you two.

"I'm sure he's lovely…" Lloyd sighed. "It's just… hard to talk to him, I guess. I don't know why. Maybe I've got underlying anxiety connected to him because of the wedding? Or something else…? I just never know what to say. The small talk just… doesn't happen."

Ellis laughed a little bit. "Ah. Yeah. I don't know how to help you there." He replied, shrugging slightly. "It might not be your fault, though, Anton…doesn't really talk much to anyone except his family or his…friends."