Romani Montclaire - Our Home (5/23)

[04:02] Was it dangerous to go back to Osrona already? It was practically destroyed, and it smelled of death and blood. She hated it, but, if Mariaan was telling the truth it was worth checking out at the least, right?

And finally, after running and sneaking through the damaged streets and past destroyed buildings she found him. He wasn't dead like she was so fearful of. She was exhausted from the battles, she was low on her own morale but this? This boosted her.

She darted over to him and even if he sat upon a slightly ruined bench, she leapt at him - crying. He was safe!
(Ophelia cos Montclaire)
[04:04] It was a scene he had been told not to go back to, not yet.

All the same? It was time. A small visit had been taken before his departure to Theria, and now.. Now he returned in full. Returned to the smells of blood, to the smells of death. Returned to the far emptier streets, to the destroyed buildings.

He had come to sit at a bench, to stare at a levitating shard and the like in front of him when it happened. For a moment his tired body had sat up until the moment he heard her footsteps and felt her leap at him. His hands rise up, quickly catching Ophelia and hugging her close.

For a moment, he is silent, just hugs her close. Then he exhales.

"You know, you were not at the house like the letter said. I was worried."
(Romani cos Montclaire)
[04:06] There's a tightened embrace around him, refusing to let go whatsoever. Because she was fearful if she did she'd just lose him again.

"... No. I was being held prisoner in Osrona itself," She said softly. "Couldn't leave the city... I'm sorry I worried you. I - I really thought it was alright to return but." Her eyes shut tightly.

"I fought to try and protect it, and it was.... Did they really let you go? They didn't hurt you?" She questioned, doing a quick inspection of him before looking back up at him, "The cried for blood, Romani. They wanted to kill everyone. Destroy everything.... I - …. I didn't know what to do."
(Ophelia cos Montclaire)
[04:11] His own embrace remained tight around Opehlia, holding her tightly as his eyes closed. A small exhale breathes past his lips, just giving a small smile as she was close.

"Oh." A frown. "It was worried about you. Every moment you were away. You really need to stick to your word, Ophe, you said you would stay with me in Myllenoris but.." But instead, for a bit, he had been alone.

"They did not hurt me. I am to come back to Myllenoris within a year to discuss finer details, but they have not hurt me. I have not been hurt the entire time I was there, besides by Mihalis the one time." He nodded, rubbing the marks of the collar that might have lingered around his neck.

".. I do not think Finley wants to destroy everything. He gave an impassioned speech, but he did not speak of wanting to completely destroy Orsona. In fact.. I intend to speak to him about rebuilding it, when I see him next."

"The plans for such were already drafted up. I want this place to live, and to thrive. So, I am going to make sure it does all I can. I do know however,"

"The blood is not over. He and the Teraphim have sworn to hunt down Alexander to the ends of the world."
(Romani cos Montclaire)
[04:16] "I know. I know. I know you told me to just stay there, to stay with you - but I thought I could make some change. I thought I could do good, so I just couldn't help myself," She admitted softly.

Guilt ate away at her, but he was safe. He was free.

"... What do you mean finer details? A-... About rebuilding Osrona? And, Finley DID want to destroy everything! I was right there when he gave the order, Romani! They all went rabid, like animals!" She defended, brows knitting together in frustration.

"People evacuated to the Academy..." She paused however when he mentioned that they had sworn to hunt Alexander down to the very end, and she offered him a quiet stare. "... Do you... Agree with them, Romani?"
(Ophelia cos Montclaire)
[04:20] "Did you? Make change, in the end?" He does not say it presumptuously. Instead, Romani is aware of what he was unable to do, and looked towards her, hoping that she had done something in the meantime.

"Finley was mad. They all were. Alexander struck Acshea's heart, a representative of the spirit that they follow. That is why they grew angered, that and the death of Asta. Many people have that moment of anger, that moment wherein they snap." He shook his head, looking disappointed at hearing everything.

"As long as Alexander lives, Myllenoris will hunt him. I am rather certain that is fact. But where I stand in matters is non-inclusive to that."

"I want Orsona to live, to thrive. And I want a leader that I can believe in, and hold faith in again. Someone I can trust. Someone who does not abandon me when it suits them."

"So I am rather neutral in that whole affair."
(Romani cos Montclaire)
[04:26] "... I think I showed people I was never the traitor they thought I was," She said softly. She only said that due to Sethon's earlier apology, for ever casting doubt upon her loyalty. "But beyond that...? I don't think I did." She admitted with a little sigh.

Of course the Teraphim would be mad given Alexander had struck out against the crown itself. But - did that truly mean that every human should have suffered at their hands? Sure, they lost their leader. They lost Asta, but they had routed the Knights and the last defenders of the city, and broken through. They had destroyed it. Her eyes squeezed shut.

"I was immediately attacked Romani, by Tieru! He tried to KILL me!" She stressed out, eyes wide. "Alexander didn't abandon you. He released you from your duty, and me as well, so we wouldn't be valuable prisoners. So then Myllenoris would have no reason to continue holding us, and have no reason to threaten our lives. So we became just... Ordinary people caught up in a war..." She said softly.

Therein laid Ophelia's most grievous fault. She may have been mad at Alexander, she may have been bitter - but she was quick to move past things... And she was loyal to the point of blindness sometimes.

"Come to the Academy with me. Everyone is there, you can talk to him there." She suggested now.
(Ophelia cos Montclaire)
[04:34] Romani shook his head.

"You were charged with Treason, not once, but twice. Not only that, you even admit. You were unable to change things there. Not a lot was able to happen while you worked with Alexander."

His eyes close. For a moment his own eyes squeeze shut. His hold on her tightens, swallowing for a moment.

"I can protect you from them. But I can not protect you if you imiedently turn around and leave me." But then came the heavy topic. Her eyes stressed out, her eyes wide.

"He abandoned me. He broke my oaths, and left me to rot in Myllenoris. You say he did it so we would not be valuable prisoners, so Myllenoris could not continue holding us. But do you know what happened?"

"I was held there. Held there able to do nothing as I heard of the church going mad. Able to do nothing I heard of people being chased out of Orsona. Of my wife being locked in Orsona, not even being able to see head or tail of her.Because of what he did,"

"I was completely alone."

His eyes squeeze shut. A small exhale breathes past his lips.

"I am not going to the academy. I am done following a leader who separates me from the people I care about. I am going to move on. Move on and rebuild Orsona into what it should be."

He reached into his pocket. From within, he draws out something, a white flower, and holds it out towards Ophelia.

"You are welcome to come with me. And any others from the Academy who would want to help rebuild. Anyone but Alexander and Del, who broke Orsona apart."
(Romani cos Montclaire)
[04:34] {Item} You drop Poppylus x1.
[04:43] She was quiet and for once she listened to him. Because for once, Ophelia held no grand ideas or plans. No ideas on what to do to stop this terrible fate - for the terrible fate had already happened. But she allowed him to speak, to explain how he felt and in a moment, there's a pain in her eyes.

A grief that threatens to swallow her whole, rearing it's ugly head. Tears spill from her eyes, and for a change she no longer pretends to act as if nothing got to her. Because everything did, but she acted as if she could move on. As if she was better than anything negative that came her. When Romani said he had been completely alone it broke her and she tilted her head forward against his chest.

She's silent for a long while, even after he admits he wouldn't go to the academy. That he was through following Alexander. Eventually however she does look up, to stare at the flower he held out towards her and a hand reached out to take it. It was twirled between her thumb and her index finger idly before she finally spoke.

"I'm sorry..." She said, quiet, almost a hushed whisper. At first it almost seemed as if she wouldn't say anything further than just that single apology - but for what? Then it spills out. "I'm sorry I left you alone. I'd probably say I'm a horrid wife, but that could just force you into feeling bad and admitting I'm not. But - I should have listened to you, and I should have stayed right there by your side. I should have remained safe, and I shouldn't have ran off to try and follow some... Stupid idea of revenge. So I'm sorry, Romani. I've caused you a lot of pain and that... That isn't fair." She explained. She wiped at her nose some, shaking her head.

"... If you aren't.... If you aren't going there, and Osrona is...." Well. Osrona was no more, as it stood honestly. Anoccupied city, ready to be crawling with Teraphim out for blood. "... Where are you going to stay? Because I will stay with you, as I should have done. As was my duty, and now, I will... I will do so. I swear."

Even if it meant turning her back on the King.
(Ophelia cos Montclaire)
[04:52] A part of it was something that he had not grown out of, not since he was little. While a member of the church, that spiteful part of him, the part that had felt like Inante stole something from him and ever distrusted the Stellus since reared it's head. His words towards Alexander were filled with venom, filled with anger.

And yet, it fades, if only briefly as Ophelia breaks. As she tilted her head forwards into his chest, his arms raise, wrapping around her back and just holding her closely. His hands pat her back as he let out a small sigh.

"It is not your fault." Romani said, simply. His fingers gently rubbed her back as he sighed.

"I wish that you had been honest with me, that if you said you were going to leave Myllenoris and go to Orsona, you would have told me. But that is not something I can change now. It is something that has happened."

A small squeezing of his eyes shut. "Nothing is fair. It is not fair that I was abandoned by the Petrakis empire. It is not fair that I was imprisoned for years. It is not fair that I was alone. But what time do I have to dwell on it?"

"More people have lost their lives. More unfairness has happened to people who followed Alexander, people are dead. All I can do is suck in all this unfairness and try again. Try to make peace, try to make something I believe in."

"Because the world is not fair. And it is not going to get more fair for me any time sooner."

A sigh before hearing the question of Ophelia. Where was he going to stay?

"Our home. I am going to stay at our home. I am going to talk to Finley when I can, and rebuild this city from the ground up. Rebuild it how it should be."

"Because that is what I can do in this unfair, cruel, abandoning world."
(Romani cos Montclaire)
[05:03] That anger, that spitefulness - it was something she sensed. She felt it, and then at least for a moment, it faded as he just held her. He told her it wasn't her fault, and she wanted to tell him he was wrong - she wanted to fight with him over whose fault it was.

Because, at the end of the day, it was her own.

Just how close she had come to death against Tieru opened her eyes up.

"... I'm sorry, Romani." She managed out, after everything. Nothing was fair, and the least she could do was work to make it up for him. To strive and work to make all of it up for him. To stick by his side, as she should have done in the first place. Something she had failed to do.

When he admitted where he was going to stay she peeked up at him, concern crossing her features.

"... Y-... You're planning on staying here...?" She asked quietly, fear tinging her voice. "But it's so unsafe - what if more people from Myllenoris come, and they try to kill us? Tieru tried to kill me, Romani. What if he finds out I'm not dead? He'll KILL ME!" She declared, leaning forward just a bit to stare at him.

But eventually, that small look of panic faded.

"... But - they won't go after you, will they?"
(Ophelia cos Montclaire)
[05:08] "There is no need to apologize. Apologies will not change the past." His eyes closed, and if for only the moment he recalled the words of his father again calling him a failure.

"Words and actions are the past. They happen, and they come to an end. What matters most is the feeling. People may forget what people say, but they will never forget how other people make them feel. And words can not change that."

"Only what happens in the future can change how one feels about the past." His eyes open anew, the sun and moon resting upon Ophelia.

"I am staying here. It is my home. It is smoldering, burning, filled with blood and bodies. But it is the place that I have served as a noble, and a place that I want to rebuild as a noble. If more people from Myllenoris come and try to kill us?"

"I intend to talk to Finley in the first place. I intend to get him to approve that this area is fine to be rebuilt. The grey cloaks will assist, not hinder. And we will build an Orsona without the monarchy, without Alexander or any other Petrakis. And I will make sure you are safe in it, as long as you stay by my side."

He shook his head. "I do not think they will go after me."
(Romani cos Montclaire)
[05:16] Her hands reached out, and now she took hold of his arms, as if he could steady her from collapsing then and there. It was a frightening prospect. Her eyes squeezed shut and she nodded.

"I'll stay by your side, and I won't leave you. I'll show you - I will, I'm sorry," She pleaded quietly. "But they called for everyone to be murdered, Romani - and that included me... When I just wanted to protect my home. Our home..." She whispered quietly.

Her head leaned forward once more, placing it there against his chest. And for a while that's where she stayed, silent, thinking.

"I'll stay here, or go where ever you go..." She murmured softly. "... B-But I truly don't think Myllenoris is safe for me to go to, but I'll go if you go." She said.

She was desperate. She was scared. She had been injured not once but twice, and she had nearly encountered death at the hands of a Teraphim, angry and blood thirsty. But if Romani was with her, surely she'd be alright.
(Ophelia cos Montclaire)
[05:20] His arm would raise. As she took hold of one, he would put it around her shoulder, pulling Ophelia in tight and just holding her close. For a few moments, he just said nothing, eyes closed.

"It is worrying. But at the same time, I do understand it. If I had heard that you had been murdered, whether it was by Orsona, or Myllenoris, I do believe I would have been the exact same way. Alexander had you poisoned and everything." The idea of snapping was unappealing to him, but at the same time?

All it would have taken was one bad day.

He leaned forwards, pressing his lips to her forehead as for there is that moment of silence.

"Are you certain? It really depends. Yes, I think I can keep you safe, but at the same time.."

"If you go, you have to be ready to denounce Alexander. You have to be ready to rid yourself of every bond that you have with him. If not, you may wish to stay at our house."
(Romani cos Montclaire)
[05:29] It was then that she realized just how important she truly was to him. That if she had been murdered he would have reacted the exact same way as the Teraphim. His lips pressed against her forehead, and she felt comforted by that single small action and her eyes dipped shut. She reached up with a free hand to wipe at her face before offering a deep breath.

"... I have to do the single thing I never, ever wanted to do. That my Grandfather raised me to never do, Romani." She admitted quietly. The idea of turning her back on the Crown was...

It was like suddenly no longer breathing to her. It was inconceivable in every possible way and she quietly shook her head. But if Myllenoris came to occupy the city, she'd have to eventually show her face sooner or later, in front of Teraphim regardless.

There was a crossroads laid out in front of her, and she had consistently chosen the Crown over and over again. Only to get burned over andover again.

"... I'll... I'll do it, if I have to, for you." She said quietly. If it meant sticking by his side and showing him through her own actions how apologetic she was, she'd do it.
(Ophelia cos Montclaire)
[05:36] A long time ago, he would have been similar. A long time ago, he would have fought for the crown, and died for the crown if he was so asked. But that part of him had snapped over time.

The abandonment, the loneliness, the accusing of his wife being a traitor twice, Romani being reduced to nothing, and then having what little support that he had had stripped away from him. It was like Alexander had tied him to a chair and slowly slide files underneath his nails then uprooted them, and left him only shards to heal over. Treated him as disposable and left him in the trash.

"I understand that. It is not something that I wanted to do either, at some point. But he is no longer a king that I can believe in. And I have to build something that I do."

A small sigh. "So, stay with me. Stay by my side. Let us both leave him behind, and move on. Become a force of betterment instead of just being abandoned, or tossed to the side by Alexander did us."

His arms wrapped around Ophelia, and he would hug her tightly.
(Romani cos Montclaire)
[05:41] Ever after what had happened, she hadn't spoken to Lloyd. He hadn't even so much as looked at her. The only words she had exchanged with Alexander had been tense, and only after the battle, did things seem to go back to semi-normal.

Sethon had apologized for ever doubting her.
Alexander had told her to keep watch for couriers.

And that was just how it was.

"I am your wife. I love you, Romani. Of course I'm going to stay by your side, and stick with you." She said, sounding so sure of herself. Because she was. She had offered advice, guidance. She had been willing to tell the King when he was wrong and time and time again she had been ignored or outright disrespected.

"If you do this, the entirety of the remnants of the Church will be after you, you know. You're aware of this, right...?" She questioned, her head tilting quietly.
(Ophelia cos Montclaire)
[05:44] A small smile crosses his lips.

"I love you too, Ophe. and I hope you are going to stay by me. Things are going to get far more dangerous, and may even get worse before they get better. But if we build a foundation, I believe that people will return. If we build a foundation, people will believe. And they will make things something we can believe in once more. That is what I think."

A small breath does leave his lips.

"Most of them. Del. Sethon. Not Sparrow. The High Keeper was someone who I sought out first and foremost. The only other person in the church who I could locate who also believed in me. And, Ophe?"

"If my family believes in me? If those I care about are still by my side? Then it does not matter to me if a part of the church is after me."
(Romani cos Montclaire)
[05:47] His statement that he loved her caused the tiniest smile to light up across her features, before eventually she'd look around... And that smile did so fade.

"... Do you know what they plan to do...? I know Regulus spoke about that Coalition - is that still happening?" She asked. "Do they still intend on... Doing... What was it again? Democracy?" She inquired, with a little bit of disbelief in her tone. "Also should we head elsewhere? There might be people that come looking for a fight. This place isn't safe anymore."

Not to mention it... Well, it was depressing. And it reeked.
(Ophelia cos Montclaire)
[05:50] A moment of bright within that shimmering city that had gone dark. His hand moved down, going to hold hers as she spoke.

"Not entirely. I know they plan to hunt Alexander. and I know that the Coalition still ever remains. But I want to bring about that dream of Democracy. And, as the only person still around who heard some details.. I feel as if I am the only one who can begin to bring it."

He gave a brief nod and began to get to his feet.

"Sure. We can speak at home. You are right, being directly outside is not the most safe." At least, not for enemies of the grey cloaks.

Romani stood with little fear.
(Romani cos Montclaire)
[05:52] He took her hand, and she felt relief flood her features and her body for the first time in a very, very long time. As he stood up she stood up with him.

"... I just remember that Regulus spoke about me being some... Ideal candidate." She muttered, with a bitter little laugh and a shake of her head. "But yes. Let's head... Home." She said with a little smile.
(Ophelia cos Montclaire)
[05:55] Romani would lead Opehlia back within the Montclaire manor. If there was one thing that he was thankful for about not living in his father's house, it was the fact his own residence was tucked far enough in that escaped some damages.

Taking a seat upon the pillow, Romani would give a nod.

"I think you could be. If you rely on Alexander left, and stood on your own, you have always tried to make things better for people. You are a diplomat. I could see you becoming an Elected."

He smiled, before breathing out. He would reach into his pocket, taking out a wrapped up meal, and holding it out to Ophelia.

"Also? Welcome home."
(Romani cos Montclaire)
[06:07] It was a good thing that both this house and the cottage out in Messaris was relatively untouched. She relaxed against the pillow now, and Romani's words cause a slight wince on her being an Elected, and she didn't know why.

Perhaps it was from another life. The world may never know.

"... I was a diplomat," She corrected before a single shrug was offered. "But I'll see... What happens, I suppose. People may not even vote for me in the end. And --" She paused in what she was saying as Romani offered her a wrapped meal and she immediately took it, opening it and eating it.

"Thank you, Romani. Welcome home."
(Ophelia cos Montclaire)