Goodbye Alice

[00:58] Alice ras Petrakis says, "Meeting with Alexander soon... so you shouldn't be in here too long."
[00:59] Kofe says, "He said he'd leave us there for a few more months."
[00:59] Kofe says, "Didn't even wanna talk to me."
[00:59] Alice ras Petrakis says, "Yes, yes..."
[00:59] Alice ras Petrakis asks, "Everything alright here?"
[01:00] Kofe shook his head, rising up from his seat and walking closer to the bars.

"Same old, same old. Nothing changes much in prison."

Though a lot changed on the other side of those bars.

"What about you?"
(Kofe)
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[01:01] Kofe asks, "Are you alright?"
[01:11] "I'm fine..."

Obviously not quite- though it had been a while since the news. Alice stared over at Kofe with a small frown. Soon, there would be a meeting- and they would have to decide just what Kofe's behaviour was about.

With Alexander's recent address...

"... I'm sure you understand, unless some sort of third party influence is proven, that I can't be queen of the country alongside somebody that acted in such a way. At least not without some time for repentance..."
(Alice ras Petrakis)
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[01:22] Kofe's expression of happiness seemed to falter soon after the Princess' words were spoken. The way she said them were proper and neat but the real meaning behind it all was... completely different. The young man took a long moment of a silence, and a massive weight pressed down upon his heart. His gaze shifted upwards to look at the ceiling, avoiding to show too much of the water that already was building up in his eyes. He let out a small, soft sound.

"Ah.."

And then turned around, leaning back against the bars, slowly, gently descending down towards the floor to take a seat in complete and utter silence. For a while. Almost half a minute of him seated in the least graceful manner she'd ever seen him.

"Is that... what you want, Alice?"

This went back further than merely this incident, didn't it? It went back to their first fight. To the time he hit rock bottom, thinking he wouldn't be enough for her. All of those fears that haunted him for years, the fears that had been chased away were... creeping back in.

".. Why'd you take this long?"
(Kofe)
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[01:26] "It doesn't matter what I want. Especially not when the kingdom is so dire." Alexander's continued rulership seemed shakier by the day; even she was forced to admit that. Whether exiled or killed, she had to prepare while praying that the man retained his throne.

The woman leaned forward. Unlike Kofe she was stoic, her gaze determined. One hand rest on the bar.

"If you truly believe that you were bewitched... then we'll need to find evidence, or at least enough support for the theory. Otherwise I'll need to think up some sort of repentance from Alexander."

The kingdom always came first- principles she'd stayed true to since their earliest adventures. She took a deep breath.

"I dunno what you mean by 'take this long'. But this isn't about my love for you, my dear..."

It was a flame that couldn't be put out so easily in her heart- so why did she look so stoic?

The princess wasn't quite as stalwart as she appeared. Kofe would be able to see the more subtle signs of despair.

"... It's about Osrona's faith and it's survival."
(Alice ras Petrakis)
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[01:39] He didn't want to hear that kind of talk from her. He hated that kind of talk. Politics that came in the way of his happiness were a problem he'd lived for for years now, but it never had gotten in the way to an extent Alice reached out to him to break it all off. His lips finally parted after a long silence.

"It should matter. What you want should matter, Alice. You're the Princess, you're not some... creation made just to rule. You have feelings, you've got dreams, needs, wants. You... used to want to adventure. To go far and wide. To discover places you'd never think existed. To let go of your 'destiny' for a moment just to be... happy."

He looked over his shoulder a bit, yellow eyes coming across her stoic gaze.

"You made me fall for you, and just so happened to be a Princess."

Those words mattered. They had a deeper meaning. They were the very same words he'd said to Alexander when he asked if he could court his sister, when he explained that he just... fell for Alice. That it happened, regardless of circumstances.

"You were the one who said that I might've been betwitched." He said, looking back towards the wall before him. "Do you think it's true? Because... I feel it's just a cop-out for a mistake I've made. A mistake that almost had me killed. A mistake that ruined my brother's relationship. A mistake that sent me in jail for months on end. A mistake I regret. Every. Single. Day.

I'd never hurt Alexander after telling him I wouldn't do it. I'd never go against your desires when you voiced them. But this time I did. Whether or not I was under the influence of someone else's will shouldn't matter.

It happened. Who says it won't happen again when I'm at your side while you sit on the throne?"

A moment of realization was given for Alice to try and find a way to push back against that, to say words that'd make sense out of it all. Though it wasn't plenty enough time to stop him from saying those last few words.

"Osrona's faith and its survival lives in the people who haven't given up, not in the crown, not in the castle, not in the damaged walls."
(Kofe)
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[01:47] Did she believe it? Well- it was a possibility. Alice wouldn't lie and say she was confident that witchcraft was the result of it. It was only Sethon's actions that even brought that as a possibility.

The woman turned around, brushing back her hair. Difficult words to hear. Yes, she'd had such hopes once... but where had they all gone? Crushed beneath the heel of war and hopeless attempts to end it.

"My dreams are meaningless," she said. "People won't have faith in you unless Alexander personally forgives you." Another avenue which she reached out to, subconsciously...

"Dreams of adventure, dreams of happiness- they were only ever dreams, Kofe!"

It was the presence of other important figures that helped her avoid breaking down here, though her voice cracked regardless. It wasn't like they ever deigned to notice her anyway. Always Marie, or even Odin...

"... After they killed Serea, it doesn't matter anymore. Everybody is ready to die. If only they had more faith in a miracle as well."
(Alice ras Petrakis)
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[01:57] "Fuck you."

Spoken with such power, such... strength. It was as if those words almost came naturally to him in the midst of it all. For him to insult her in such a way told of how unhappy he was. Though the reason would be revealed soon enough.

"Our dreams aren't meaningless. They're not just dreams. They'll never be just dreams to me, Alice. They never were."

He wasn't just going to leave it at that, no. He was far from done getting right on her case for the words she said about them as a couple.

"You want people to hope for faith and a miracle, but you can't even believe in the relationship we've fought for. For the miracle we've created by having the world accept us as we were. By having people who hate royalty trust you with what they cared most about.Miracles aren't angels coming down to save us all.

Miracles are about a young hopelessly dreamy Prince who comes to my jail cell and convinces me I can change the tides of war all on my own. Miracles are what we make ourselves.

Pericles isn't back alive.

Neither is your mother.

But by the end of it all they both accepted us. He was going to bless our wedding. She trusted me with her fucking life to try and better Osrona. So, kindly and respectfully you can go straigh to Hel if you think that what we want, what we fight for, what we dream of means nothing.

You can wear a crown and pretend like everyone is ready to die because it seems hopeless, or you can throw those doubts away and ignore what the world wants and just... make the life that you want. Live with the people that you love. And face the things you want to face."
(Kofe)
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[02:05] Flinching at the insult, she continued to face away from Kofe and listen to what he had to say. Such words couldn't strike true with her, not now, after everything that was happening.

"There's no point trying to flower it up. Politics and practicality are -real- and you assaulted the king. That takes precedence over anything else, since I'm next in line. And when I talked about dreams..."

She turned around now, scowling. "I wasn't talking about this! Peace, adventure, happiness- every year that's gone by has just made them fade away further. I was an idiot for thinking about them, and an idiot for making you think they were possible. Especially since even Ilburg has decided to war on Osrona. Nobody cares about -our marriage-. They just care about you."

Basil's intervention was enough to prove that.
(Alice ras Petrakis)
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[02:16] "So what if they're further away than ever before? When did I say I wanted to grow middle-aged with you and just quit after that?"

Where the flame of hope had been extinguished in Alice's heart, Kofe's own fire was brighter than ever before— roaring in anger in a fashion only befitting his heritage.

"The only idiot I see is the girl giving up on love because she'd rather be scared of the consequences that may come than face them alongside someone else if they really do come."

A pause was held, and his tone grew less.. harsh. Honest, as ever, though sensitive, gentle, kind. To explain better without arguing.

".. Basil told me that he wanted the both of us to move to Alabastre. So that we wouldn't be harmed by the war. So that we'd be happy together. Because... he cares about our happiness. Our happiness. You met my mother and she loved you. She approved of you. She thought that we definitely should get married.

People care about us.
I care about us, Alice."

He voice broke a bit at the end of that, if only in anticipation of what he'd ask next.

"The.. only question left is if you do, too.

Alice Pe— Alice. You accepted my proposal for marriage already, but I'll ask again."

He drew in a deep breath. Hands pressed up against the floorboards as he pushed himself back up on his feet, turning around to face the woman.

"Do you want to marry me, no matter what comes in our way, whether it's good or bad?"

This was it. Her answer would decide the rest of their lives.

Forever.
(Kofe)
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[02:24] Sad blue eyes stared over at the Rhoynish. What did it mean to love- how far could such a thing truly go? Could she sacrifice everything for such a fleeting moment of joy?

Visions of family in a run-down house returned to her. Accepting Serea's disinheritance, living happily without care for the destruction outside her walls. A family.

... After all that had happened? It couldn't be.

"Not until you're absolved," she responded simply. "To threaten more disorder in the kingdom at a time like this? I would rather die."

Nothing came before Osrona, least of all her own pathetic happiness.
(Alice ras Petrakis)
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[02:35] I would rather die.

The expression on his face was one that held courage while sadness crept further and further upon his heart. He wanted her to see it. To see what she caused in him, to see the pain that was brought by the thought that she'd rather be dead than take a chance at happiness.

Crushed.

Utterly, and completely crushed. Where she'd heard how he felt towards her when he first proposed to her, Alice would now be able to hear something... uncanny. Brought from his heart to her mind directly was pure and utter silence. A complete lack of a song.

Nothing. No words. No tune.

From the man who always had something unecessary to add, who always had more to say, more to share, more to show. Alice had pulled Kofe out of an abyss darker than any nightmare that could plague the lands of Esshar. She'd made him happy. She'd made him able to trust in what he loved, in what he wanted, what he saw. She made him dream, and shared those dreams. She turned him from a boy to a man.

And now she destroyed that man.

Not a word was spoken.

There were things words couldn't express on their own. The Rhoynish had learned to express those thoughts through music in order to better connect with people, to bring them closer, to keep them close. But Alice had... severed everything there was.

Out of fear.
Out of duty.

This was not only the day that Kofe's heart was shattered into a million pieces, but also the day he'd learn something new in defeat. Sometimes words weren't enough.

Sometimes a song wasn't enough.
Some feelings could only be expressed by silence.

Complete and utter silence.
(Kofe)
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[02:51] Once upon a time she'd had no issue raising Kofe from the despairing thoughts that plagued him. Now she wandered the labyrinth herself, darkness unbearable amidst the endless disasters that befall her and her kingdom.

She was not so easily saved, and silence-- perhaps the most distressing answer of all.

"What are you looking at..?" she said quietly, turning over to the man. Her eyes were narrowed. "Just let me speak to Alexander, won't you? Trying to force ultimatums now- acting so arrogant and so clueless-"

Her voice rose before she could help it, unabated irritation rising into both anger and despair.

"You imbecile! You attacked the king like an animal! You've acted on your own so long for peace, but there's nothing to show for it! Finley and you -had the crown-, and where did that go? Penelope is your -mother-, but Ilburg is marching against us! What have you even been doing all this time?!"

It all came out in an angry ball of venom. "Pericles is dead- Serea is dead- do you think they'd be proud of us? How could they?! You think it's so easy to pretend like everything is okay, like we don't have duties? Look at me, Kofe! Look at what I'm holding!"

The princess' hand wrapped around the hilt of her blade, the old sword of Saint Pericles. She held it shakily, practically rattling against the jail cells. "Rambling about dreams, but you've never had faith-- never believed in miracles in the same way I have! So it doesn't mean a thing to you! It's the sword of a man who trusted me!"

"THE SWORD OF A DEAD MAN!"

Spinning about, she thrust the blade right through the bench nearby Odin and stormed out, abandoning it.
(Alice ras Petrakis)
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[02:56] Odin had--- absolutely no idea how to address this.

He thought-- that things were going to be okay. He thought that through their love, Kofe and Alice would work through this and work together and tie together Illburg and Osrona, just as their dreams had been so many years ago.

But --

When he hears his sister yelling, breaking - Blaming everything on her fiancé- … His heart drops into his stomach.

...No.

No, it wasn't-- Supposed to be like this...? They were supposed to work this out. They were supposed to be the link that was going to take a step towards saving them. It was supposed to be their love that could gain Osrona back an ally, to pull them from the brink.

He stares forward for a moment --- Unable to speak, trapped in dark and swirling and cold anxiety before he stands up, pulling the discarded sword from the bench and turning it over in his hands.
(Odin ras Petrakis)
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[02:59] Emotions came crashing right against him in a way that finally let the world see how Alice Petrakis felt. All drawn by a gaze, by pain, by a man's heart being broken. He needed not to argue with her, he needed not to tell her anything for her to feel just how he felt, to see what was happening in the depths of his heart, leaving Alice to claw at reality in hopeless, angry despair.

It's with her outburst, with the tears held back that she began rattling the blade of a dead man against the bars before him, having a breakdown that topped even his own when he felt the pressure of the world upon his shoulders.

The way she spoke of his inability to save the world, the way she said they hadn't changed anything, the way she just... didn't want to accept the fact he was silent after she hurt him.

It all came crashing down.

It's only as her grasp released the blade that he finally spoke. With few words, but great meaning.

"Your love was my miracle. I didn't believe, I lived it."
(Kofe)
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[03:18] What else was there to say? He had made his point, given his view of things, opened his heart wide and been left with nothing but a crushing, terrible pain. Body nearly collapsed as he moved down towards the floor to sit down, more or less crashing up against the wall, knees nearly up to his chest, hands moving up to his face, fingers burrowing into his hair. Not to hide his shame but to hold his mind in place as it seemed to break down further and further. Piece by piece. Warm tears began running down his cheeks in that same silence as before.

Love had been there.
Love had been there and it was taken away by duty, by differences. Should he have listened to them when they told him it was impossible? That it was crazy? Should he have just... fallen into order? Given up who he was?

Was it his fault?
He was the one who assaulted the King, after all. Who tried to. In front of everyone. Nearly being executed for it.

What had gotten into him?
What had gotten into him?
What had gotten into him?

His heartbeat caught up to his quickened breathed, lungs trembling as his chest heaved up and down from the pain that was being suffered. Worse than the injuries he still bore to his legs and chest. Worse than the pain that kept creeping up with the insecurities he felt thinking about changing the tides of war.

This was his heart. This was the way he spoke, the way he got through to people. This was what everyone could see.

And all at once, the people in the jail would be able to... tell there was something wrong. A tension in the air. The pain was palpable. It was hard to ignore, hard to pass by without realizing something was... wrong.

He shook his head a bit, hoping it'd wake him up from a bad dream. From a nightmare.

He didn't want his life to be a nightmare.
Why did he have to lose it?
Was this how Edelaide felt?
Was this why she wouldn't sleep?

Was he going to die?
(Kofe)
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[03:21] Danica had not been ignorant to the things happening around the jail. Social when she needed to be, yes. However she could hear the yelling from the back of the jail, where Kofe was being contained. It seemed to be a very emotional scene happening, though she couldn't make out all of the words..

She got the idea of what had just taken place back there.

A soft frown, as she pulls a chair up to the wall she normally sits against. The corner by the bars, those purple hues would soften just a bit. Something inside of the jail had changed. The entire atmosphere. Despair. Silence.

She'd begin to sing once more.

[https://youtu.be/TZIliIa5_bY]

"She eyes me like a Pisces when I am weak
I've been locked inside your heart-shaped box for weeks
I've been drawn into your magnetar pit trap trap
I wish I could eat your cancer when you turn black
Hey..Wait..
I've got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey..Wait..
I've got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey..Wait..
I've got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice, your advice


Meat-eating orchids forgive no one just yet
Cut myself on angel hair and baby's breath
Broken hymen of your Highness, I'm left back
Throw down your umbilical noose so I can climb right back
Hey...Wait..
I've got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey...Wait..
I've got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey..Wait..
I've got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice, your advice"

She was hopeful her voice would bring some solace within the jail. Reach Kofe and help bring him out of whatever he might be feeling then. Give back some of that music he'd previously given to her....

That's all she coulddo, though it wasn't much. To pay back that kindness and understanding that had been previously given to her.
(Danica Drugovic)
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[03:23] The young Prince was, still, at a loss for words. Maybe, at some point -- He would have been able to speak from his stupid, naïve heart and give Kofe some sort of pep talk. Maybe he would have been able to use his honeyed words and silvered tongue to say something-- anything. But--

Not right now.

Not recently.

It's been too hard to feel, lately. It was like his thoughts and emotions were looking out a window in the middle of a winter's coldsnap, frost covering the edges and making it impossible to see clearly.

---He didn't agree with Alice.

But -

What good would that do? It was her choice. It was her action. He couldn't, very well, go and tell her to take back the damage she'd just done.

With a silent sigh, he pushes off -- Heading towards the exit without addressing anything else.
(Odin ras Petrakis)
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[03:27] A sweet voice that had been complimented in hopes of making someone's day better, someone's stay greater. Kofe had never been shy to express his own thoughts, even if they seemed a bit over the top. Even if it was flirting, in a way. His honesty and his will to remain true to everyone he met was admirable. It brought happiness and friendship. It brought love, impossible in all cases apparently.

Danica's words only seemed to make him fall deeper, to snuggle up closer to the wall and... hope this would only be it. That the pain would stop there, somehow. That he had already reached the apex of his suffering.

But he knew better. It was just begining.

Heavy breaths, and blame of one's self was all that roamed in his mind.

He ruined himself, somehow.
(Kofe)
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[03:37] The song has eventually ended and somehow, the entire jail had cleared of visitors. A rare occurrence in itself, had her singing really been that offensive? A couple of slow blinks came from the Drugovic, as she'd let that mind numbing quietness fill the air. Potent, and strong in its ability to make weight on everyone's shoulder. To make everyone feel Kofe's pain...

Though pain was something Danica had become immune to over the years. That real, very ripe pain. Danica lived in a world where defense mechanisms ruled her. Protected her from slinking deeper into the darkness that which would take hold of her entirely, should she keep seeking vengeance.

So she felt Kofe's pain. Understood it. Acknowledged it....And she'd let him have his silence.

"Kofe...." Her voice was soft as it croaked out, breaking that silence like a freshly sharpened blade. Yet the tone was hesitant, unsure if she'd even get a response. "...What are you thinking, right now?" She questioned him.

She wouldn't ask him the obvious questions, like if he was okay. Danica was no fool- and she'd heard the love in Kofe's song from the previous hours before. He was suffering, and she wanted him to know she was there to suffer with him. As a friend, a companion. Someone who understood what it felt like to be rolled around like a tumbleweed within the depths of lost hopes, and dreams made unreachable..

"I'm here."

Had everyone really just...Left him, like that?
(Danica Drugovic)
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[03:45] There were many things on his mind right now. So, so many things on his mind right now. How was he suppposed to move forward like this? Was this the fate that awaited him with that sickness he believed hismelf to have caught? Was this why Edelaide warned him not to fall for him? His lips parted, yet no words came out; they merely trembled as he banged the back of his head against the wall, unable to express himself to think clearly, to do anything but contort in pain. It's as if his skin wasn't fitting him. As if his body was but a husk he inhabited, yet did not deserve. He felt the cold metal of the golden arm ring on his left wrist and stared at it.

The more he stared, the more he was reminded of what happened to the one he used to wear as a child. The one he grew up with. The one he had made into a ring for his marriage with the Princess of Esshar. She threw away the blade.

How long would it be until she'd throw away that ring, too?

He breathed out in audible pain, only to answer Danica's question.

"I think I've been losing my mind."

Just how long ago had it begun? Was it when he struck against Alexander? Was it when he decided to pick a side? When he declared that side to others?

Was it when his sister died?

Everything was so blurry.
(Kofe)
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[03:58] The audible sound of pain coming from Kofe did not fall on deaf ears. A small hand reached toward her own mouth in response, only further dealing with the weight that pressed against her heart for him. She'd lift herself from the chair where she had been sitting, and she'd bring herself to the bars of her cell. Holding onto the bars, just trying to get a glimpse down to Kofe's cell...

But it was no use. The bars were too close together for her to get her head through, and the walls between each cell stuck out. She was completely blind.

"Kofe..." The tone in Danica's voice changed. Those purple hues looked around the jail for just a moment, to make sure no one was watching or listening to her. Almost as if she were afraid to be caught being so nice to someone. It was unusual, to say the least.

"Listen ta' me- ye' aint' losin' ye' mind......" Her voice was soothing, caring , even. Those small arms would wave out from her cell.

"Come ta' tha' bars Kofe...I'm 'ere for ye'." Surely he would be able to see her hands, and some of her arm at least.

"Don' lose sight o' who ye' are....There's more ta' ye'...Fight tha' darkness Kofe, it hurts like 'ell, I kno'..." Her words kept coming. Hoping to reach him, somehow, through the ever seething pain that was soaking into him like a lotion. Melding and brooding...Something she knew all to well about.

She wouldn't let him lose himself.

"Play ye' music for me...Again...Let it out, Kofe...Lemme 'ear it."

There was only so much she could do being so stuck and at a distance. Why did she want to help him so badly? Maybe it was because he'd seen her, a glimpse. Pointed it out- and made her feel...More understood. She'd do the same for him, even if she had to just..Keep talking to him...And waving from her cell like a mad woman.
(Danica Drugovic)
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[04:05] Where there's a will there's a way. That's how the saying went, right? Then why was it that Danica's reach didn't produce anything from the young man's cell? Why was it that he merely remained on the floor, keeping to himself and refusing to move. Unable to move. Paralyzed by heartbreak and pain. His eyes squeezed shut. He'd rather see nothing than a blur of reality as it was right now.

Kofe leaned to the right, falling to the floor completely and laying there, slowly shaking his head. Still no sign of him through the bar. Nothing from him. He wasn't... reached out for her the same way she was reaching out for him.

She may have been nice, but this wasn't something a smile could fix. This wasn't something sweet words and good heart would repair. Nearly a decade of trust, love, and life had been broken apart. Shattered.

All over a war.
All over the same war.

As his mind dipped further into the dark, he felt his grasp on reality loosening up.

He hadn't been mad before. He hadn't lost his mind, really. Everything was fine with him and those doubts and regrets weren't something he should even worry about, yet, at this precise moment...

.. Kofe genuinely lost a part of his mind.

At the very least he'd be falling asleep on the floor rather than smashing himself against the walls.
(Kofe)