With shortness of breath // open+intro // you explained the infinite

[vellichor]

THE MOON'S WATCHING OVER— As he spoke, she smiled and nodded, relieved that he seemed unbothered by all her rambling. Maybe she hadn't been rambling. Maybe that was acceptable. "Perhaps. Still, I think it'd be better to know simple things like the name of the King. What if I were to meet him and I had no idea who he was? It's good I ran into you first, maybe now I can avoid that. And yes, God save the King, I suppose," she replied with a wide smile. At his next statement, she laughed and shook her head. "Oh, I'm sure that isn't true. Everyone's interesting. Sometimes you just have to get past the outside bits. Besides, I bet it's hard to be exciting all the time when he's got to have all those laws in his head, you know? I couldn't keep track of all of it. That's why I prefer fictional governments to real ones. There's never any unjust laws and good always wins. I like things that way." At the mention of the Queen, her own expression fell for a moment. She assumed this man must've known her somehow to be affected so. Thankfully, though, he soon moved on to the topic of solitude and she shook her head.

"Perhaps but even I'm willing to admit things have gotten a bit extreme. Loneliness and solitude are far cries from each other and I know which group I belong to. It's no one's fault but my own, really. I should've gone to more places with less dead people and more... living people," she admitted, a light smile on her lips and a near laugh in her tone. Perhaps it wasn't a good thing to joke about but it was true. It's not like she made friends with any of the graves. At the mention of his name, she gave a light nod, pausing a moment before answering, "Well, it's very nice to meet you Freddie. Perhaps it'd be nice if we-" her words died as someone she didn't recognize approached them.

She wasn't sure how this girl knew of her new friend's son but she supposed it was better not to ask. At the mention of her dead family, though, Eliora's expression fell almost immediately and, without thinking, she felt herself reach towards Freddie's hand before pulling it back quickly, glancing towards him. He wasn't Alexander. He didn't want a strange woman holding his hand. She could still remember how her husband had told her to hold his hands if she got nervous or frightened. It was better than the alternative, which she was now reminded of as she felt a string in her palms while her nails curved into them. Thankfully, Freddie seemed to know how to move the conversation along when she had no clue what to say. She wanted to say it wasn't that easy, that sometimes the parents didn't even know what their children looked like anymore or how hard it was to get into Blackfall. It wasn't like she hadn't tried to find Ivy, after all. Following her kidnapping, it was all she'd done for months with no luck. Perhaps now was a good time to change the subject. "Um, well, I'm not sure if we've met but my name's Eliora. And I must agree with Freddie, it's probably best we move to other subjects," she tried to keep her tone light and airy but she felt as though she couldn't hide the sadness that overcame her.  —YOU AND YOUR DREAMS

"SPEECH"

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