(I was debating asking you for a retcon on that specific point. But I also think I can roll with what you've given me. So I'll leave it to you. Also, sorry, I'm at a church thing and have a minute here and there but not enough time to type out the whole response yet 😂)
(Its all good. I'm at work as well. I'll take it out real quick)
(I appreciate it! Sorry about that 😬 )
(If I may, I believe the magic thing was mentioned when Elia asked for a blood oath?)
(Ehhh it be fine)
She[Elia] had never dealt with blood magic herself but she had met those who had. She had the incantation memorized. It had been drilled into her head. If he was worried about her attaching them together, she had no intention of that.
(Tired, I appreciate your level of dedication to stalking this ;) I think it was this assertion that lead me to believe she wouldn't be doing the blood oath thing herself, therefore not admitting she had magic)
(Or perhaps it was perfectly obvious to everyone but me, and if that's the case, I shall apologize once more to all involved. Thanks for your patience)
Lear sighed. It had been rumored that all of the Callistars had been magic wielders, and the thought had crossed his mind when she confirmed who she was. However, he and Romulus had intentionally not asked, because they didn't want it confirmed.
"As long as I hadn't seen it, I had plausible deniability. We did not know you were a magic wielder, no matter how strongly we suspected it." He continued working on the Prince's wounds.
"Obviously we wouldn't burn you. Drown you, maybe." He sounded completely serious, though it wasn't a threat. "Romulus won't be the one to do it, but you do remember we just spoke about how he's a rule follower?" He watched her stroke the Prince's hair.
"He's had some bad run-ins with magic. And he doesn't hate those who use magic, but he also follows the laws of the land. Which, unfortunately currently prohibit magic." Lear looked at her, a sad look on his face. "I certainly won't say anything to him, but if he asks me what I know, I cannot lie to him. Not because of my allegiance, but because I literally can't lie convincingly enough to trick him. He knows me too well."
He finished up rebandaging the wounds. "It's not that I think he would kill you outright. It's not even that I think your magic is a problem. I just… I didn't want to know for sure, and now I do, and I'm sorry I do."
Maybe Elia would be the one to change the Prince's mind. Lear had been trying for a while, but he'd also been attacked by magic users before, and Romulus had been the one to save him, which hadn't helped the case he was trying to make that they certainly didn't need to be executed.
(Aha of course, gotta love that selective memory right? Lol. But seriously, y’all’s writing is very good and sticks with me pretty easily, and at this point I am extremely invested so)
(honestly, i kinda feel bad. I probably could have/should have rolled with it :/ but. here we are)
(Ahhh y’know. It happens to the best of us)
(although, now that I think about it, I was probably going to use the same 'we kind of knew, but didn't for sure' line of logic if I had rolled with it. So I guess the outcome is the same. Just with slightly more deception and drama involved this way 😂🤦🏻♂️)
"I have not used my magic in so long, I have very little control over it. I promise I have no intention of using it unless I have complete control. I am not worried about either of you knowing. I do not believe that Romulus would harm me over such a thing. He might try to swear me into never using it, but I don't think he will kill me over it."
Elia frowned softly. She shifted her focus solely to Lear. "You have to understand, people are burned at the stake for a mere accusation with no evidence to follow it up. His father, the king, is responsible for that. Those that you ran into likely saw an opportunity to get back at the man that caused all of this. Magic users are not inherently dangerous. We just are. It's apart of us as much as breathing is. We cannot control or decide to have magic. It shouldn't be something we are killed over." It saddened her, the fate of her people. Before the new king, her father recruited magic users for his army. A legion of magic users only. She wasn't sure how they had all come into his service but she doubted all of them were willing. Magic could be the tipping point in a war. Her father knew that and tried to use it, and he still ended up dead. And now her people were being hunted down for simply existing.
Lear looked at her for a long moment. "I appreciate your reassurance that you're not planning on using it unless you have better control. But, in this instance, it's not actually you I'm worried about being the problem." He fully believed, the way she was acting with the Prince, that she wouldn't do anything that might seriously hurt him. Her magic wouldn't, but she didn't know that, and he trusted her to be careful.
What made him nervous was that he didn't share her confidence Romulus would do nothing over her magic. He wanted to, wanted to believe that the Prince would not hold her to his father's laws, but… "Romulus would never try to make you stop using your magic once he knew you had it. Not in any kind of way that wasn't hostile." He wasn't threatening her. He just wanted Elia to know that this wasn't safe. "He tends to just… neutralize the threat."
He noddded at he. "I'm fully aware of what people are executed for, and I agree that it's terrible. I don't share the Harad taboo on unregulated magic. I can fully understand why people would attack Romulus as the Prince. It's no shocker, but the fact remains that it hasn't helped me convince him to stop following his father's commands on the matter." He paused for a moment.
"I will say that magic users are not inherently malevolent. Having the ability doesn't make you villains. Some are, and some are not, same as the rest of the world. But it does make you inherently dangerous. In the same way that Romulus is inherently dangerous, simply by virtue of being the strongest man in any given room… and people fear that kind of power." His expression softened. "I'm fairly certain you wouldn't… but if you were to decide to incinerate me right now, right where I sit, what would I do? What could I even do in the face of power like that? Similar to Romulus waking up and deciding to strangle me, there's nothing I can do against power like that."
Lear looked down at the sleeping giant next to him. "That doesn't justify killing either of you, or any other peaceful pagic users… but I can certainly understand the motivation."
He reached over after a moment and touched Elia's arm. "Please… not because there's anythig wrong with it, or because it's bad, but because I fear what would happen… please be careful. Keep that secret as long as you can." The look on his face was concern. No condemnation, no threat, just… worry.
He'd come to care about her, as close as she'd gotten to his dearest friend, as much as they had in common, and he didn't want anything to happen to her. Certainly not because of this.
Elia reached across to place her hand on his cheek. She was slow in her movements in case he didn't want her touch or wanted to push her away. "I promise you I will be careful. I won't use it unless it's absolutely necessary."
She kissed his cheek softly before taking her spot back beside Romulus.
(Ahhh sorry it's so short. Work)
(Youre ok! not a problem, focus :) )
Lear didn't flinch away, though he didn't reciprocate. He knew for her, that was a good sign, and he was surprised she'd taken it that well.
Well, perhaps the adder has lost some of its sting.
"I hope the day never comes when you would have to, friend." He smiled at her. "And please know, your secret is as safe with me as it can possibly be."
He checked the small crystal clock on the wall. "Would you try to sleep? I can understand not wanting to, but at some point you'll need to, and you're surrounded by friends here."
"Have some faith in me, Lear. I've survived this long. I can survive longer still." Eli gave him a convincing smile, though she wasn't convinced of that herself. She was in the den of the lions. There was no place more dangerous for her than at the palace.
She thought for a moment and bit her lip. "I'll try. I doubt I'll get much sleep though." She laid down in the bed and placed her head on the pillow. She got under the covers and curled herself toward Romulus. It took her a long while to fall into a dreamers sleep.
Lear nodded slowly at her reassurance. He hoped she could keep it hidden. To have come this far, only to get found out now would be awful, and Romulus would be incriminated if he tried to stop her execution.
He scooted up into a sitting position as she went to sleep. He eventually went and got the map, working out who would be around her if she picked the Morgan Estate.
He managed to very quietly wake up Romulus and put him back to sleep when the hour came. He was hoping not to interrupt Elia now that she was finally asleep.
Elia managed to sleep quite well, surprisingly. Her sleep was free of dreams or nightmares. However, she didn't not sleep very long. At the peaks of dawn, her eyes were opening and she was stretching awake. She slowly sat up and rubbed at her face.
She needed a bath and fresh pair of clothing. She slid out of the bed and poured herself some water and drank it all.
Lear was glad that Romulus woke up quietly the next few times till morning. At dawn, when Elia woke up, Lear nodded at her from his spot.
"Morning." He smiled. "Hope you slept well." He watched her get her water. "I asked the servants to bring up our packs. They're in my room, if you wanna step through that door. Bathroom is open in there as well, although you'll end up smelling like my soap. You could likely steal The Prince's soap if you want. In any case, your clothes are in there. Or we could ask one of the handmaids for an inconspicuous dress, until we get you more."
Elia nodded at him. "I'll take a dress if possible. I don't think any of my other clothes are clean. But im going to go take a nice long bath."
She grabbed the bottle of wine and a glass before stepping into Lear's bedroom and finding the bathroom. She filled the tub up with steaming water and stepped into it gingerly. She filled up her glass of wine and sunk into the water, enjoying it. She could work on cleaning herself in a bit. She wanted to enjoy the hot water and met it soothe away her aches and pain.
Lear rang for a maid and made the arrangements. They had a dress in roughly Elia's size up in the room in under ten minutes. He paid the maid and handmaid enough to keep quiet, though he knew the rumors would run anyway. The sooner Romulus could wake up, think clearly, and get that title signed into reality, the better. Elia would be much safer with 'Lady Morgan' attached to her name.
Romulus woke up again a while after, his head hurting him. He knew last night had not been good, and as he tried to move, he became aware of how much of him was damaged.
Well. This is my life for a while.
He sat up, groaning quietly. Lear looked over and shook his head, but he knew better than to try to stop the Prince from moving and working.
"Lear… get me some softer clothing, please…" He wasn't wearing much, currently, but if he was going to be a person today instead of a bag of sore meat, he would need to dress enough to allow him to work.
There was much to do.
Elia made it throw a glass of wine before she had even begun to wash her hair and body. The bath water had begun to turn cold and she knew it was time to wash and get out. She scrubbed her body and washed her hair. She stepped out of the water and wrapped a towel around her body and hair. She walked back to Romulus' bedroom wearing only the towel. She set the bottle of wine in the kitchenette on her way.
Upon noticing her prince was awake, she smiled and walked over to him. "How are you feeling, darling?"
Normally, Romulus probably wouldn't have reacted to Elitia's state of dress. He'd been around naked girls for it to not faze him.
Alternatively, he might have been very affected by it, and they may have gone for it at some other time.
But as it was now, he was in pain and tired and a bit addle-brained. He was sitting on the edge of his bed in nothing but a pair of shorts, working on not falling over as Lear figured out his clothing. The sight of a beautiful woman entering his room, wet-haired and largely naked, flicked all his switches, but his body hurt too much to respond. He also didn't have the brain power to control his reaction very well, and so he wound up just staring at her in open appreciation, with a dopey-looking smile on his face.
The Prince didn't even realized he'd been asked a question, until long after the fact. "Hmm? Oh, I'm alright." His voice was still trying to wake up, rumbly and low and groggy.
Lear almost snickered at him from across the room. Romulus could be such a boy sometimes, for a man carrying all the weight he carried. Pretty girls still do the trick.
"Elia, I laid out your dress on the bed back in my room. Didn't want to interrupt your bath but it's in there." She wouldn't have necessarily seen it unless she was looking for it. He walked over to the Prince with a couple of soft-looking knitted garments, done in the typical royal red and black. He was always aware of how big Romulus was, but every time he helped the Prince pick clothing, he was reminded. The sweater he'd chosen was big enough to fit 2 people his size, or likely 3 people of Elia's build, and Romulus would fill it out nicely.
Elitita giggled at Romulus. She hadn't been expecting him to be this affected by her. She had been in states of near nakedness before and he hadn't reacted this way.
She walked forward to the prince, giving him a soft smile. She looked over his wounds briefly, taking in the severity of them. She bent down and gave him a sweet but swift kiss. "I'm glad you're feeling better darling. Now, will you tell me exactly what you are doing up? You should be resting. Your body needs to rest. Lay back down." She had crossed her arms and gave him her scary look, the one only women could truly do.
"Why are you letting him get up, Lear?" She turned her look on him. "He's injuried. He needs to rest. You know he needs to rest. He should not be getting up at all."