The Scarred and The Royal

Question me? All of your doubt feeds my desire.

Why did men always feel the need to stick their nose in her business? No matter where she went, big stupid brutes like him appeared, barking and howling like she gave a damn. It was beyond her what possessed him to come there and shatter the calm. He spoke to her as if he knew who she was, and one thing for certain, she sure as hell didn’t know him. "You've got nothing I want." The fallen empress continued to glare at him from over her shoulder. Sparks danced in the inner rim of her irises, the flesh around them irritated by tears and friction. He continued to stand there and gawk despite what he said. If he truly wanted nothing, then why did he continue to stand there? Did he take enjoyment in what he saw? He certainly was not there to admire the scenery or pick herbs. She could gather that much about him just from a glance. “If that is the case, why bother talking to me at all?” Nothing about the situation suggested his motives were pure. He was either a liar or there was something stuck in his throat.

Most normal folk would have turned around and minded their own business. He, clearly, was not normal in the slightest. He had the audacity to start chiding her like he had the right to it! Then he did something that she did not-at-all expect. Before her very eyes, the beautiful white-petaled flower upright and unbeknownst to the danger was crushed under the weight of a nearby stone. Nox barely pulled her paw out of the way in time. She jerked back in surprise, each muscle in her body jolting. What could she do but stare? Where the flower used to be now sat an ugly slab of stone. The memento of her daughter which she had only moments ago discovered, gone. Nox felt her jaw loosen and hang for a moment as she tried to process what happened. When the shock wore off, she felt her heart swell with grief, gradually replaced with outrage. It took an immense amount of self-control not to lash out. Nox reminded herself that it was just a flower and not worth getting into it with a stranger. And indeed it was ‘just a flower’, but what gave him the right to judge her, especially in grief? “Is a mother not allowed to grieve the loss of her children?” Those words came out harshly, each syllable like a sharpened blade.

Slowly she managed to tame the flames that threatened to consume her. She inhaled deeply and trapped the air inside her chest before releasing it as a plume of condensation in the frigid air. All the while he continued to judge her as though he knew what she’d been through. He came quite close, and it was rather impressive to see just how accurate his assumptions were. Either he was a talented medium with a knack for reading others, or he knew exactly what he was talking about because he had been there himself. “Oh, and you just know everything about me, don’t you?” Her tone was less-intense now but steeped in mockery. Nox lifted a paw and tenderly soaked up the tears that clung to her eyelashes. “You want to know what I think?” It was a rhetorical question of course; he had no choice but to listen.

By then he turned away, either to leave or simply because had a taste for dramatics. Finally, she could get a good look at the fool. He had a coat much like her own, but it was as if each of his limbs had been submerged in blood? A closer look revealed that those marks were not pure-red but rusty in color. While she could not see his face, she was able to examine the back of his ears and the gnarled scars on one of his legs. All in all, not the sort you would expect to see prancing through a garden, but the exact type to insult some random woman he didn’t know. In her travels, she had determined most brutes like him had no filter and shit for manners. It almost made sense now. “I think you speak as though you have experience.” She moved forward, weaving in front of him to look him in the eyes. “Did you find yourself broken at some point? What happened to you I wonder? Did you lose someone? Certainly would explain the bitterness in your voice. Perhaps…” She locked eyes with him. He looked like he had certainly gone through something. His muzzle was scarred beyond belief and each eye had its own set too. One scar so deep that it took root over his eye, likely an injury that blinded to took away some of his sight.

He would have been quite handsome if not for that nasty attitude. She took in every corner of that scarred up mug. “Perhaps, you shut emotions out in order to survive, or because you found them an inconvenience. Those eyes certainly don’t belong to a man who knows happiness, trust, or love, and if you had experienced them… You would be crying too.” Most creatures held some sort of life in their eyes. After all, the eyes were known as a window to the soul but in his, she found nothing. Pale turquoise orbs peered back at her alert but spiritless. There were few instances where she felt truly uneasy but looking into his eyes roused discomfort. “I might look pitiful, but you look dead, inside and out and that alone is something to pity." She scoffed coldly,  "I can shed a tear or two for you if you like.” Nox doubted he cared much for what she had to say, but truthfully, she didn’t care either. It was a simple joy to serve his own dish back to him and smile as she did it. “Oh, and yes, I am very selfish, among other things. But you, my dear, have no room to talk.” She turned away then but kept a careful eye on him as she returned to her initial spot. “-And if you had better knowledge of snowdrops, you would know that the snowdrop is also a symbol of consolation and sympathy. Which are both traits you very much seem to lack.” Nox slowly nudged the stone with her paw, undoubtedly smearing the flower's remains beneath it. If nothing else, perhaps something would grow in its place. As she worked to move the stone, she could not help but think about what he said. He had spoken some truths and it especially stung to hear them said out loud. She was not the same woman and she never would be. No, that Nox had died a long time ago. Despite knowing that, she still wasn't sure if she was ready to let go...

I'm gonna make my own empire.