[He'd only been giving her furtive glances, his gaze mostly turned away. But at the promise of pretending he hadn't said anything if he didn't want to talk about it - and more importantly, telling him he didn't have to be ashamed - he finally looks up at her.]
[When she extends her hands, he lifts his, hesitates for half a second, then reaches out and places his hands in hers. Something about it still rings with a familiarity that's fading away. Vague echoes of a small hand held in hers.]
[It is almost too kind for him to bear. Especially after all he did to her. All he threatened to do, especially to those she loved. She probably remembers enough now to know that everything she believed about him was false, that he had never been her family.]
[That he had never been that innocent. Even from an early age, he'd done all he could to obey his uncle's will.]
[The word "we" in "we get dealt a crap hand in life" sticks out, though, and he thinks hard about that. Yes, in everyone's mind, including his own, she was the daring outlaw... but what did that mean? Running from the law. Hiding herself away. Exiled on the fringes of society. Someone from her family, Lilith, turned against her.]
[Probably alone. Until whenever King came into her life. Until Luz.]
[In the reality bubble she'd been a part of the world. Had a job at a school. Had been a daring adventurer. Hadn't had to hide. Had friends like his imaginary dead parents, even if she'd lost them.]
[Had a child, even despite losing said friends, the last gift said friends left her - along with the gift of their trust - a child more precious to her than any magical artifact.]
[It's all gone now. She's back to a life that must have been much more isolating until recently. She's back to a world that cast in the role of the monster, and nearly turned her into stone. Maybe it grew richer at one point, but so much of it must have been lonely, must have felt bad. She must have at times truly felt cursed.]
[He's emotionally intelligent enough to understand it really probably is a "we."]
I'm sorry. Not just for everything I did to you. And Luz and King.
Also just...that you went through everything you did.
I know you probably just got some good things back like remembering your real family. But I also know I wasn't the only one that was awful to you, and you had to get that back too.
You should never have had to hide. [From the Emperor's coven. From him.] You should never have had to worry about being executed.
[In a way that was meant to publicly shame her. Make an example of her. Look at the evil wild witch, cursed and monstrous, suffering the terrible fate she earned in her unapologetic rebellion. Her pain and horror encased in stone forever.]
You should never have had to worry about your loved ones being hurt by me, or him, or anyone else.
[Somehow, despite how much he's hurting, he manages to unearth some compassion for her. She's owed it. By him and everyone else that tried to hurt her.]
no subject
[When she extends her hands, he lifts his, hesitates for half a second, then reaches out and places his hands in hers. Something about it still rings with a familiarity that's fading away. Vague echoes of a small hand held in hers.]
[It is almost too kind for him to bear. Especially after all he did to her. All he threatened to do, especially to those she loved. She probably remembers enough now to know that everything she believed about him was false, that he had never been her family.]
[That he had never been that innocent. Even from an early age, he'd done all he could to obey his uncle's will.]
[The word "we" in "we get dealt a crap hand in life" sticks out, though, and he thinks hard about that. Yes, in everyone's mind, including his own, she was the daring outlaw... but what did that mean? Running from the law. Hiding herself away. Exiled on the fringes of society. Someone from her family, Lilith, turned against her.]
[Probably alone. Until whenever King came into her life. Until Luz.]
[In the reality bubble she'd been a part of the world. Had a job at a school. Had been a daring adventurer. Hadn't had to hide. Had friends like his imaginary dead parents, even if she'd lost them.]
[Had a child, even despite losing said friends, the last gift said friends left her - along with the gift of their trust - a child more precious to her than any magical artifact.]
[It's all gone now. She's back to a life that must have been much more isolating until recently. She's back to a world that cast in the role of the monster, and nearly turned her into stone. Maybe it grew richer at one point, but so much of it must have been lonely, must have felt bad. She must have at times truly felt cursed.]
[He's emotionally intelligent enough to understand it really probably is a "we."]
I'm sorry. Not just for everything I did to you. And Luz and King.
Also just...that you went through everything you did.
I know you probably just got some good things back like remembering your real family. But I also know I wasn't the only one that was awful to you, and you had to get that back too.
You should never have had to hide. [From the Emperor's coven. From him.] You should never have had to worry about being executed.
[In a way that was meant to publicly shame her. Make an example of her. Look at the evil wild witch, cursed and monstrous, suffering the terrible fate she earned in her unapologetic rebellion. Her pain and horror encased in stone forever.]
You should never have had to worry about your loved ones being hurt by me, or him, or anyone else.
[Somehow, despite how much he's hurting, he manages to unearth some compassion for her. She's owed it. By him and everyone else that tried to hurt her.]