The silence that hung around them was one he had contemplated breaking. He wasn't too sure what to say to her - more so stuck in his own internal confusion. When he had agreed for her as his Queen, he was told of her lifestyle; spun a vision of a loyal wife, strong in image and tradition. The one who would unlock Asphodel's full potential. Not one that battled mountain lions and ran from the altar. A sharp breath left his lungs in an exhale, and his dual-colored eyes surveyed the area they were coming up to. It was still dark out, both were exhausted from battle and his wounds ached numbly from their walking. Of course, his pride was far too great to risk showing her signs of that. In truth, he was relieved she wasn't trying to still flee from him; and he liked to think it was because she felt safer with him. Instead of embarrassing himself, he opted to ears flick his ears back upon his skull, and a frown graced his charming features. "There won't be any shelter here." A dull fact stated, for the land suddenly came to a stop before them, and a rather daunting fall haunted the air remaining. A small pool of dread settled in his gut at the thought of the two of them exposed and vulnerable for the remainder of the night - especially with their energy waning. "Or maybe it is the perfect spot for the night. At least I know that's one less escape route for you." ""

The walk following their unexpected reunion had been uncomfortable for her, to say the least. She had been so sure that she’d escaped, that he would have snatched her up days ago if he’d been able to find her. It hadn’t even been an hour ago that Sylenei had told herself she’d finally made it only to realize moments later that she’d never even been close. The weight of that defeat was crushing, but she wouldn’t allow any prickle of shame to show itself. Asphodel would have to believe this had all been apart of her plan and that everything, aside from the encounter with the mountain lion, was going exactly how she envisioned.

She walked ahead, mostly to make a point of staying fully within his view the whole time, but also because she didn’t want to yield what little control she was able to try and claim. Even if it was just the choice of where they rested for the night. They stopped at the edge of the cliffs, an ear flicking in response to his comments. Gods, she was tired. Did they have to do this now? “Nice view though, hm?” She replied, taking a seat and beginning the task of grooming out the blood and debris from her fur after the fight. If he was going to force her to stay up a while longer, she would make good use of the time. “And I thought you’d want me to have an escape route. You know, in case another mountain lion finds us.” She flashed him a look of feigned earnest contemplation, avoiding addressing the accusation directly.

"Speech."

Despite her words, the Prince found his focus trained upon her body as she began to groom herself of their feats. Their. Knowing she had played a part in bringing down the predator settled bitterly in his mind, and he wasn't too fond of knowing she knew it too. "You seem keen to stand on the front lines of battle. In fact, I don't think you want to escape at all actually - you haven't done such a good job." His own smugness glimmered in his eyes as he jabbed at her, his own pride grasping to find any advantage over hers.

"Sylenei." Use of her full name came on tones that demanded more of her attention. "What was your plan? Truly? Where were you running to?" He tried to his the underlying jealousy, the thought there was a hidden hero ready to whisk her away from him.

From his legacy to create.

""

The weight of his gaze sat heavy on her, but she did her best to ignore it as she groomed herself, focusing instead on maintaining the appearance of being unbothered. At his reply she couldn’t help letting out a small snort of a laugh. “Finally catching on?” It was easy to ride the wave of amusement at his continued confusion at her participating in the fight, but she still felt the jab to her ego as he again brought to her attention how miserably her plan had failed. Still, she’d die before she allowed him the satisfaction of admitting that this had in fact been a botched escape attempt.

Her name was enough to finally get her to stop and look at him. She studied his face as he asked her what she was doing, judging and weighing what exactly to say to him. “I already told you, I thought it would be nice to get away for the honeymoon.” She answered with a shug, turning away to look back out over the water. It wasn’t a believable excuse, but she needed to know more about him before she could pick the best angle to approach this from.

"Speech."

He was aggravated that it seemed like she was holding something back. At least, he didn't feel like she was being honest with him. A frown settled on his features, and instead of replying to her, he let silence hang upon them for a moment. Dual-colored eyes observed her watching the waters as well, and finally, the Prince decided he would play along.

"Very well. Let our honeymoon begin." His voice rumbled out lower in volume, and his larger frame rose from where he had been rooted. Swift motions brought him closer to her, and a slight smirk pulled at the corners of his lips. Injuries be damned, he was in no rush to mend himself versus play around with her. "You will lay with me tonight." He informed then, his face emotionless while his eyes held firmed.

He anticipated her reaction.

""

There was no further prodding for information. The weak excuse she had given him was accepted with no resistance or pushback. She knew pretty, powerful men were naive, but she couldn’t believe that he’d really bought that. She’d not been telling a convincing enough lie to overturn his earlier conviction. No, he must not have asked, because like all powerful, pretty men, he didn’t care much what her plans were. Her wants, needs, desires… They were irrelevant. He’d not asked her to marry him, he’d threatened her parents to hand her over. An agreement they had made all too willingly. If he’d ever cared about her plans, he would have asked her before he decided she would be his bride without ever having spoken to her.

His proposition was the least surprising thing of the evening, a natural place for a newly wedded prince’s mind to wander, but she couldn’t fight the ice that slid through her veins at the thought anyway. It was a burden that she had known would be hers to bear for some time, one she had only been able to delay rather than outright avoid. The muscles in her jaw tensed, the corners of her mouth turning downward ever so slightly. “Very well then.” She wasn’t entirely opposed to the idea, but she resented the lack of say she’d had in the matters that had led her to this moment.

"Speech."

Backgrounds often make up the entirety of a person. For the Prince's proof of his upbringing, he could see as time ticked on that he and she were not the same. They were not raised completely the same. Similar, perhaps, enough so that her family had seemed ideal to wed out of, yet he ended up with a bride who fought mountain lions and shined bright with sarcasm.

A challenge, but he assumed it came along with his path to power -- to being King.

Glancing back from where he'd been peering over the cliff edge, he latches onto her tense jaw and downward turned curve of her lips. Asphodel cannot help but grin subtly to himself at this.

Tradition would assume she would be with his heir by nightfall. However, nightfall had already come - was about to pass even - and they had been doing everything against the traditional way so far. A moment of silence, and his gaze turns heavy as he studies the softness of her eyes. Tradition...

Tradition could wait a few more nights.

Instead, Asphodel reclines down onto his haunches and slowly lowers to his belly as the winter air bites along his skin. Red stains his shoulder, and deep lacerations that have slowed in bleeding merely remain as he finds a comfortable position. "Join me - here." A motion to the exposed portion of his chest and stomach, a perfect spot that seemed like she would fit well in. At least he'd be able to keep her warm. "You fight - who has taught you?" If they were not going to engage in his sinful desires, he would still benefit from this night in some fashion - learning her more.

The faster their bond grew, the closer he would be to his own throne.

""

She expected angry jaws to close around her nape once more, for the prince to do what all men seemed to, and take what he wanted from her. There wouldn’t have been any protests from her, but it would not have been warm or passionate. When he instead laid beside her and invited her to join him she could only be confused. The idea of cuddling up wasn’t exactly ideal either, but far less of a burden. She couldn’t deny that the chill of winter was biting through her fur and some extra warmth would not be entirely unwelcome. With only a few moments hesitation, she took him up on the offer, settling in close enough to share their body heat.

She frowned at his question, bittersweet memories that she’d been trying to out run rushing to the surface. “My brother did.” The initial answer was short and sweet but it felt unfinished. “Our parents found us once and were furious and demanded that he stop the lessons at once, but we just made sure to be more careful after that.” Her frown deepened, and she began to reach for the all too familiar anger that would help chase away the vulnerability creeping in. “I was sent out to forage for supplies with my sister when we were young and we got attacked. All we knew how to do was run and I was much faster. My lessons started the next day.”

Her voice trailed off. She wouldn’t be offended if he inquired further, but she was just as content to let him draw his own conclusions on how that had gone. Her sister had fallen behind and been the first to fall. If Sylenei had not run they both would have died but she had made it her mission to ensure she was never left so defenseless again. She couldn’t always count on someone else being around to save her.

"Speech."

He hadn't paid attention to her reactions to his change in tradition - partly because he wasn't sure himself how long the change would even last. He had always been weak when it came to his desires.

Her warmth was immediate at his side when she joined him, and his eyes found her face once more while he noticed the frown she held. Brother. The Prince watches with a contemplative look. That was rather traitorous to tradition - let alone their Kingdoms. Aspohodel was glad that her parents were not in approval of it, at least they had not lied when they said their children were raised in tradition. Only kept secret their daughter's hidden rebellious spirit.

"I could have our Kingdoms alliances end and your brother's head at my feet rightfully by that information alone." His voice was steeler, gaze colder, but his body pressed in closer while his muzzle attempted to caress behind her ear. Would he though? He could take everything that had happened since their wedding back to his father, and he was sure they could wipe their Kingdom away. Perhaps Aspohdel would even keep Sylenei in the aftermath. She was naive however, and too slippery with information. "You will need to learn to shield your tongue as Queen." He had too much on the line for his own Kingdom to consider backing out now.

Yet.

"Your parents were not wrong for making sure that was all you two knew." He comments idly, before exhaling and pulling his head back a bit. "Attacked by what?" The question hints a new turn in focus, so that he may not shove his beliefs down her throat too much, or keep the thought of her secret lessons at the forefront of his mind.

""

She didn’t know what she had expected, but there had been the barest glimmer of hope when he had still called her his wife after the fight that maybe they would be able to find some common ground after all. Maybe he had felt as suffocated as she had by the weight of expectation and tradition. What a fucking idiot she had been. Her lip curled into a silent snarl but she knew better than to allow a growl to escape. She was capable of fighting, but it didn’t mean she would stand a chance against him. His words bit deep, and she quickly stood, pacing several steps away. She no longer wanted his warmth. “You’d have to dig him up first.” She snapped, her voice sharp with barely restrained grief.

She was shocked by what she heard, even though it was the exact sentiment she’d been faced with her whole life. Sylenei had never been able to wrap her head around the ignorance of others. By the time he was finished, the emotion had washed from her face once more. “I know well enough the dangerous implications of the knowledge I shared, I was under the impression that you wanted to know your wife beyond the mask I must wear. I will not make such mistakes in the future.” He didn’t want to know her or her story, he only wanted to know what obstacles stood between him and what he wanted.

He wanted to know what had attacked her, but why he bothered asked was a mystery to her. Perhaps he just wanted to fill the evening air with the sound of his own voice, or maybe he was looking for her to give him more information that he could use against her. “Soldiers. I do not know which side they belonged to.” She hadn’t lingered long enough to get a good look, and had done everything in her power to wipe as many details of that day from her memory.

"Speech."

Her distaste was clear - if not just as powerful as her bravery when she had fought that mountain lion with him. She removed herself from his side, and the cold was immediate, the wind cutting sharply against his fresh wounds. He couldn't help the slight grimace at the sensation.

Well, his threat hardly held much weight if her brother was already dead. It was hard to say he felt sympathy for her. Maybe if they knew each other more, but all he knew of the brute was that he did things in secret behind his Kingdom's back.

Emotion was sealed off from her face then, and her next words had the Prince rising to his paws once again. A bit slower than normal, too. "You lie right through that pretty mouth." He moves closer to her then, but only enough so he may try and pace a circle around her. "You have had this... this rebellion in you since a little girl. I just saw you fight a mountain lion earlier. But you will suddenly not make these mistakes?"A low grin smooths to the corners of his lips then, eyeing her. "What makes me so different?"

""

The more he spoke, the more she despised everything about him. Not only the cocky arrogance, but the way he was so sure he had her pegged. Like he was so much smarter than her. “I will not apologize for defending myself, nor will I run when faced with danger in the future. If I am to be a Queen, I will be one who cowers.” This was spoken with a self assuredness she felt in no other situation. Even if it meant her death, she would rather face it head on than fleeing like a damn coward.

“As for being honest with you tonight, as I said before. You are my husband and I thought maybe there was a future where we could both be happy together. I thought you would want to know me, not just who I am supposed to pretend to be.” She glanced at him, as if some part of her still hoped to find a glimmer of understanding in his face, but she looked away quickly without paying too much attention. To not see it would be too disappointing, but even worse would be giving herself any room for misinterpretation. Hope was a poison she could do without.

“This is the woman you selected as your wife. I will play the role expected of me, but I will do it my way. If this is not acceptable to you, you could always return home with the news that I am dead. Or, we could spend the rest of our lives at odds with one another. Where we go from here is mostly up to you.” It was bold of her to be so blatant about her intentions to not cooperate with what he wanted from her. She had been fully prepared to plaster fake smile across her face and nod along to whatever he said. Something in her must have snapped though, the insatiable drive to live had reached its breaking point. She would rather die than be forced to live the rest of her life being forced to hide every part of herself.

"Speech."

Her strength still showed in her even if the rest of her seemed shielded. The Prince listened with a mix of emotions - and at certain parts almost none at all. It was confusing, because she was right. He was her husband, and it was up to him. He'd much rather return her back to the Kingdom, maybe even marry her sister instead of her. She did mention she had one -- how heartless would he seem? But alas, he couldn't for a few reasons. He didn't want to feel the humiliation of ending the marriage with her; but he also didn't want to battle with her constantly or have his image tarnished if he was to build his empire.

Another? There was a small, tiny, miniscule part of him that had liked seeing her launch into battle.

"Yes. It is up to me - Your King. Not just your Husband." His eyes narrowed as he began to speak, unsettled by the ultimatum she tried to put on him. She was the first to his empire, the key to his legacy - her King overall. "There is no your way. You are the woman I bought as my wife, which your family happily obliged." A fact he felt she didn't keep on her mind enough. He was not the only one with a cold heart around here.

He moved his attention off of her then, and back to the edge. He was irritated, the corners of his lips pressing thin briefly. This was a far cry from how he thought things would go, and it was only getting worse the more they talked. Even if they had shared a brief moment of... affection. Brief.

"I will not be deciding your title to me tonight. Start looking for shelter." His tone was clipped then, redirecting their focus forcibly to another important task at hand.

""