#rexexemplar

[verseandrhyme]

so, what are your intentions?

@rexexemplar | cont

She is a coward. She is weak. She is incredibly stupid and an overall fool.

Mitama scowls to herself as she surveys the text of the book she had snatched in an effort to look very preoccupied and not like someone who had just sprinted into the library with hell on her heels. Because she was not hiding. No. Absolutely not. She had nothing to hide from.

She had simply...was simply...Lord Xander was a very intimidating man.

Mitama was not one to shake or quell under the eyes of any authority, but come on. The only times she had seen the King in person was on the battlefield, cutting down everything in his path and barking out orders to all nearby. It is not an easy image to simply overcome! And certain not when paired with the stories that her caretakers had told her of Nohr and Hoshido’s shared history growing up.

Worst of all, she had mistaken him for Siegbert. As if that was not embarrassing enough, she displayed herself as a fool who could not even recognize Siegbert from another, how was she-

She squeaks at the sound of his voice. (Hide and already / the seeking has completed? / Count slower next time.) Mitama hesitantly looks up to meet his gaze.

Still stoic. Still intimidating. She clears her throat. “Lord Xander, hello.”

Mitama laughs sheepishly. (He has written about her? Wonderful. With Siegbert’s penchant for romanticism, she can imagine all the flattery she has to climb up to meet now.) “If it is all the same to you, Milord, I would far prefer a publicly private conversation.”

She closes the book all the same. It is clear her flight ends here. It is slid back into its place as next she speaks. “The gardens outside the grounds make a lovely place for a private encounter, without sacrificing how lovely it is outside.” And, ideally, one would come running to her aid should she let out her final scream.

[verseandrhyme]

rexexemplar​:

so, what are your intentions?

“There were no shortage of bandits, but they were easily dispatched,” Xander replies, holding a door open. He closes it once they’re both inside the sparsely-furnished office. “Have a seat.”

There are two plush chairs in front of the desk; behind it, a much larger one with a high back, clearly meant for the king. Books line the shelves without a speck of dust to be seen; by row, they’re separated by origin and organized by alphabet, boasting titles from the far western coast of the Adrestian Empire to the furthest eastern reaches of the Alliance. There are clearly lessons for him to learn, too; though war is a constant no matter which continent they occupy, the methods and tactics of each land is different.

Xander will have plenty of time to look through them later. For now, he keeps his attention on the pink-haired woman in his office, her shoulders squared and her posture stiff. The poor girl looks like she’s steps away from facing a guillotine.

“…At ease,” Xander tries again. His tone comes a touch gentler when he takes his seat and gestures for her to do the same. “I don’t intend for this to be an interrogation of any sort, Mitama. Siegbert has made his affections for you abundantly clear, and I would prefer to leave it to the queen to judge matters of the heart. If she is to be believed, she’s much better at it than I am.”

It’s… a joke. Or at least, half of one. He isn’t sure if it does much in helping her relax.

“That being said, your relationship with my son is a matter I find myself needing to discuss with you.” He folds his hands over the desk. She looks impossibly small. “…He’s made no mention to me of speaking with you about what it might entail, and I would rather not make any assumptions of what you do and do not know.”

He has a throne, even in his office. MItama thankfully manages to school her expression. Surely the intimidation tactic had to be intentional?

Still, Mitama takes her seat as indicated and does her best to follow his order. The phrasing does little to help, reminding her of battlefields and healing staves and blood between her fingers as she worked. 

This is a battlefield all its own, is it not? Despite whatever King Xander claims, it is best for her to be prepared.

“I look forward to the Queen’s own inspection.” Mitama replies evenly. She manages to meet his gaze and considers that a point in her favor. Best to ease close to a stronger opponent, not charge in recklessly. She cannot tell if that was meant as a joke. She finds it too risky to attempt to laugh and be wrong.

“With all due respect milord, I believe the reason he has not spoken to you regarding that conversation is simply because he has not.” She really wishes he had, if only to prepare for this. “For all the traits that shine in your son’s favor, he has always been more prone to romanticism. The poet is more practical than the prince in this pair, I am afraid.”

She adores him for it all the same. To be enamored with life itself so often was an admirable trait, in her opinion.

“That being said, I am no fool and can imagine what you are aiming towards.” Her hands sit in her lap and it is easy to link her fingers together to form something stable to hold on to. “The implication that the relationship between anyone and a prince is a test before anything else, to see how the intended fairs as a potential partner in ruling the kingdom.”

She is quiet for just a moment. She knows what is coming. Best to tear into it now than delay the inevitable.

“Personally, if I may speak with all candid honesty, I think your son has chosen a partner poorly from a purely practical standpoint.”