[She wills herself to keep going, to add to the steely resolve she will one day need. Things still feel raw and in ruins, but she holds onto her pride, because it is the only thing she does currently have other than her wit. That's not particularly serving her in the moment, but this is teaching her something nonetheless.
She does stumble as she reaches the opening into the passage back up into the castle itself. Her hand goes for the wall, but she feels his hand on her elbow and looks up suddenly. There's less anger than even she would like, but she is resigning herself to her current position. She just wishes she felt better about it. She will, somehow, even if she can't see it, but the taste is a little too bitter in his mouth.]
I know. [And it seems that should be the end of what was never meant to be. Rhaenyra knows the alternative. She is already wed now, so it would mean the death of her husband and her father. Both of those see too grave to comprehend. She has lost a mother already. The sadness doesn't dissipate any less.]
I wanted you to know where I stood-- if I had a choice at all. [She doesn't. She knows that. She's known that for a while. But if she had her own agency, she would be his.]
no subject
She does stumble as she reaches the opening into the passage back up into the castle itself. Her hand goes for the wall, but she feels his hand on her elbow and looks up suddenly. There's less anger than even she would like, but she is resigning herself to her current position. She just wishes she felt better about it. She will, somehow, even if she can't see it, but the taste is a little too bitter in his mouth.]
I know. [And it seems that should be the end of what was never meant to be. Rhaenyra knows the alternative. She is already wed now, so it would mean the death of her husband and her father. Both of those see too grave to comprehend. She has lost a mother already. The sadness doesn't dissipate any less.]
I wanted you to know where I stood-- if I had a choice at all. [She doesn't. She knows that. She's known that for a while. But if she had her own agency, she would be his.]