#➤ 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚜 ┊ aphrodite & lucienne ➷ (𝟎𝟎𝟏.)

[flownintothesun]

 ⋆ ✰ ⋆ ───    ❛  𝐢’𝐝  𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫  𝐝𝐢𝐞  𝐨𝐧  𝐦𝐲  𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐭  𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧  𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞  𝐨𝐧  𝐦𝐲  𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐬  .  ❜ ~𝐀𝐩𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐢

                            ⋆ ✰ ⋆ ─── 𝟒𝟎𝟒 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝. ( @realmyths )

       𝐈𝐓 𝐒𝐄𝐄𝐌𝐒 𝐀𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐈𝐒 𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐑 𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐒 for someone or something. As though everyone needs another person or a deity to tell them what to do or who to be. Lucienne has never understood why those born with free will are so willing to throw it all away. One day, she will be expected to be the leader that Florence falls to its knees for — and yet, she doesn’t want it — because in the end she would still be on her own, bowing down to maman’s legacy. 

      In the end, her choices will still have been ripped away from her and it doesn’t matter if it made her the most powerful woman in Italy, or even the world — because she wouldn’t have decided it for herself — she would have achieved nothing for herself, save for cementing maman’s immortality a little while longer. And Caterina Agosti is not an old maid — Lucienne’s better years will go to waste before she is given an iota of power, let alone freedom. She will be expected to bring children into this world — and she wants no part in it — not to sell her soul to man nor baby. She disdains men to begin with.  And she would resent anything that stole more of her life to further their own.

      “Must it be simply one or the other?” she asks. Her voice is sweet, like a princess in a fairytale. She is quiet, soft-spoken more often than not. No one has any idea of who she is. No one would listen, no one would care. The moment she finds a way out, she’s going to seize it — damn the cost. No one had cared about what any of this had cost her, after all. “Need one die to be their own and owe allegiance to no one? Surely there is freedom to be found in life. It can’t all be trading one cage for another. I kneel for no one.”

[flownintothesun]

       𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍  𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐍𝐄  𝐈𝐒𝐍'𝐓  𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐘  𝐂𝐄𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍  what  draws  the  fine  line  between  ‘bravery’  and  ‘bravado’.  Would  she  forsake  her  family  and  her  privilege,  her  luxuries  —  if  she  was  promised  freedom  at  the  end  of  it?  Or  are  these  things  the  fanciful  notions  of  a  girl  who  has  spent  far  too  long  jumping  from  fairytale  to  fairytale  —  wanting  desperately  for  it  to  be  her  turn,  her  story?  She  couldn’t  say.  She’s  rebelled  against  Maman  before.  Theirs  is  a  relationship  of  tug  ‘o  war  —  and  if  she  didn’t  know  that  her  mother  couldn’t  stand  to  lose  —  Lucienne  might  question  if  she’s  ever  won  a  battle  with  the  formidable  Caterina  Agosti  of  Florence.  Maman  is  hard  as  stone  in  all  the  places  where  she  needs  to  be  save  for  one  —  the  spot  where  she’s  soft  like  an  overripe  peach  when  it  comes  to  her  daughter.

        Lucienne  is  not  beyond  punishment  —  but  the  punishments  are  more  lenient.  Her  mother  strikes  like  a  viper  nevertheless  —  potent,  right  where  it  hurts.  It’s  not  enough  to  kill  —  but  it’s  enough  to  ache  fiercely.   

        She  knows  that  one  day  she  will  choose  freedom  —  and  she  will  never  again  return  to  Florence.  

       "Lucienne  Agosti,”  she  would  curtsy  —  but  to  do  so  in  the  context  of  the  current  situation  would  be  to  demure  herself  to  someone  to  whom  she’s  speaking  of  strength.  She  wonders  if  Aphrodite  knows  the  name.  Some  Mafia  branches  are  hush  about  their  family  members.  Lucienne  has  guards  —  and  Maman  always  says  that  if  her  name  isn’t  powerful  enough  to  ensure  survival,  then  they  don’t  deserve  to  survive  at  all.  For  all  that  they  clash,  Maman  is  the  most  powerful  woman  Lucienne  has  ever  known.  She’d  built  an  empire  from  ruin.  Her  people  respect  her  —  and  when  it  fits  her  needs,  they  fear  her,  too.

         “Not  to  worry,  madame,”  she  says  with  a  smile,  fire  flashing  in  her  eyes,  “I  would  surprise  most  people  if  they  knew  the  first  thing  about  me.”  Even  Maman.  Especially  Maman.  

The other woman makes a good point. The choice isn't necessarily between one or the other. Though if it was, Aphrodite knows what she would choose. "You're right, darling." She says with a smile.

"It doesn't have to be one or the other."  The other woman's voice is soft, gentle. And Aphrodite is neither of those things. But she can pretend to be. Oh, Aphrodite is good at pretending. When she wants to be. When she feels it's necessary to get what she wants. Otherwise, she sees no point in concealing her true nature. But sometimes, she does. Sometimes, she can pretend to be a pure soul.

"There is plenty of freedom to be found in life." She says, her smile brighter. She would not call her human life free, exactly. But since being transformed into a vampire, she's enjoyed plenty of freedom. And that's how Aphrodite likes it. She prefers to answer to no one. To do what she wants and never look back.

"Trading one cage for another is never good, true. Sometimes we have no choice. But when we do, we should always choose freedom." Her human life had been a cage for Aphrodite. And not even a gilded one. Becoming a vampire had set her free. And so Aphrodite will always be grateful for her immortal nature. Because without it, she'd still be in a cage, if she was alive at all. And most likely she wouldn't be. The only reason she's still alive is her vampiric nature. And she is glad of it.

"I kneel for no one too. If I can avoid it. I much prefer to be in control of my own destiny." And Aphrodite is now. She rarely does things she doesn't want. And if that's not kneeling for no one, Aphrodite doesn't know what is. She refuses to let anyone control her life. She would much rather be the sole person in control of her fate. And so far, she is."I agree with you, darling. You're right. It is preferable to choose one's own life. And I always will do everything I can to ensure that I have that choice."  She will never again be dependent on anyone. She will not let anyone else decide what happens to her. Aphrodite herself will decide her own fate.

"It's good to know you want that. I admit, it does surprise me that you're strong enough to know what you want out of life. But it's a pleasant surprise." Aphrodite wouldn't mind talking more with the other woman. Despite her soft and gentle appearance, she is strong. And Aphrodite respects strength. "I'm Aphrodite, darling. Aphrodite Fitzroy. A pleasure to meet you..." She hopes the other woman will introduce herself. Who knows where it could lead? All Aphrodite knows is her curiosity is now piqued. She wants to get to know the other woman better. So she will.