/dumps self-indulgent arpee all over this comm

[heartofarapier]

Does he like music?

It was a thing she had wondered as she had her face nearly pressed up against the panel of glass of the department store. On the other side, a violin fashioned of European maple and spruce, intricate scrolling filigree designs along its upper and lower bouts, and a proper pike-head bow strung up along with it. The instrument itself was not foreign to her, but it was something that the very sight brought along nostalgia.

It had been a while since she'd arrived from Magvel, and still her heart felt heavy. But Connor had certainly helped with that, while adding some weight of his own. The kind of weight that sat right upon her heart and reminded her precisely of where she stood in relation to him. And how, with each day, that seemed to matter less and less.

"I should like very much to play for him sometime," she murmured to idle air in a single breath.

Reluctantly she pried herself away and straightening out her tunic, Eirika looked about. It had been her sincerest intent to meet with him. Any company of his would do and she was hardly particular, but she'd hoped to put some professionalism aside. None of the Native and the Princess, but rather simply man and woman.

So as she made her way - and likely tardy - to their deemed meeting place (a blooming tree of little renown), her steps held her with bated breath and a silent anticipation that could only be described in books as prickling and numb.

Comments

[mohawk_tomahawk]

Well there was something Connor could clear right now. Connor shook his head, still not doing a good job in accepting that someone calls him a man who had endured a lot. In a caring way at least. He's managed just fine, he had to after all. He had to not think about it. Eirika knew just how to reach into his heart and comfort whatever wounds that he didn't even physically show.

In a way, that would make this more intimate. Nothing fake.

"You would never be a hindrance to me," Connor said quickly.

Connor took his hands and gently now held just one of hers with them. He has to be sure of this. He closed his eyes.

Connor was a reserved man; honorable, and respectable. He knew he would never flaunt her. Abuse her. None of that.

He wanted to be a good man, to her.

He sighed....he only had a few seconds to make one of the most definitive decisions he's made. To court a woman. To court a woman such as Eirika. He ignored the butterflies in his stomach. Maybe this was what Norris felt for Myriam. Why he asked for Connor's help. This was scary stuff for the inexperienced man.

But look how happy THEY were now...

"If you see me as that man who makes you happy, then I want nothing more right now."

[heartofarapier]

"You would never be a hindrance to me."

And she thought of all the ways she could prove him wrong right then and there. Never mind that she was far from Magvel. Eirika still wore a crown in one form or another. She was still a princess. And it seemed even the people who shouldn't have been able to arrive, were able to anyway. Which meant in her darkest fears, men like Valter could still show up. Not to put down Connor's ability, of course, Eirika could all too easily see him stepping in to defend her. A repeat of Seth all over again. Of the day Connor had not come to her rescue once, but twice now. Hindrance was all too appropriate a word to use for her. That was the trouble with courting royalty. Not all people were going to approve of Renais' princess or of what she stood for.

In fact, most hardened by war would rather usurp a pacifistic noble. Perhaps.

She was worried, even as he took her hand and reassured her with his words. But she listened to him and she trusted him. Connor was no weak man and she was no weak woman. Yet if they did this, they had to be genuinely committed to the idea. It was to be no spontaneous decision made on either part. They had to be willing. They had to be prepared, even for the worst.

Her breath caught as she tried to offer up a better response than a doe-eyed gaze. As she put herself back together, she found her grasp tightening upon his hand and nodded slowly at first. "I understand and I do," she said, feeling more professional than she should have, in combination with the way her heart pounded at the very concept. "Connor, it will not be convenient for either of us. I feel that I have the strength, however, to face it. I would like to. And I wish to be the one who makes you happy, as well. I pray I can be all of that and more."

[mohawk_tomahawk]

If you could read his mind Eirika...oh wait, maybe you do. Because Connor felt the same.

A princess he would be courting. Not just any princess. A good princess. Someone who took her people seriously. He finally understood. If the people saw anything they remotely felt off about, they could not trust her. Connor can safely say she wouldn't deserve since she only thought of her people and would even marry a man she didn't love if it gave them hope.

Royalty. An entity that Connor only recently even cared to understand. Why weren't there more royalty like Eirika?

He just had to be a man the people would support. A man who would fight for them.

Connor had done that in the shadows but this would mean publicly. But maybe he could do something not as an Assassin, but as a man. A common man. Or he guessed, in which case some people saw him in the colonies, less than a common man who lived in the dirt. Maybe this was a way he could also make a difference in Eirika's life?

Challenges a plenty.

But worth the risk? Was it all worth it?

Yes. Connor felt this at the end of the day.

"Convenient, it may not be. Challenging, maybe. But even if you feel they are risks; I, as a man by your side, I will take those risks. Mark my words. I am not afraid of working into making our own lives piece by piece if this is the path we both desire. As long as it is what you want, I will assist."

[heartofarapier]

How... could she look any other place when Connor had captivated her so? When he spoke, it was as if his words were the sweetest little daggers that barricaded the outside of her heart, something she had thought was jaded and still in mourning. And she was. There was still much sorrow along her insides that she did not display or share, but little by little, Connor had seen to it that her concerns were eased.

Her free hand, she lifted, and with the lightest touch she could manage - no difficult task on her end - she settled it against his cheek. With no other incentive than to simply hold him, as if the very extension of a mere touch could possibly convey how much his words stirred her. Too surreal, honestly. He spoke with such determination, such a strength about him that he sounded almost knightly.

Connor was no prince. She had known it from the beginning and was well aware of how it could be interpreted. In a normal world, she'd be expected to wed into nobility. With Connor at her side, what would people think? Would he be ridiculed? Would he be shunned? Could she protect him? Eirika had a plethora of worries and concerns.

"You speak so brazenly with me," she finally managed to utter. "As if I am not the crown princess of Renais at all." But she was amused by his confidence and how direct he was being. It really was quite the sight to witness and the flutters he birthed were of a delightfully foreign sort. "If you would consider me yours, my strengths and influence, my diplomacy and compassion, then I would heartily consider you to be mine."