Way of Life [Rosa]

[Cecil Harvey]

He had to get back. Cecil wasn’t sure what had happened and what the heck was going on, he just knew that he had to get back home sooner rather than later. Something awful was about to happen, he could feel it in his gut… and while he trusted Edge and Ceodore to protect Rosa and Rydia should his gut feeling be right, he still felt the urgent need to get back as soon as possible. It was his home – his family, that was in danger right now – and so it was his responsibility to ensure that whatever nefarious plan Kain had thought of wouldn’t come to fruition. It was still hard to believe that the man who had attacked him and wrestled him into that portal was Kain… he didn’t really look like his old friend, but that voice was identical to the one he remembered. Was it Kain, or just someone who had things in common with him? Was it even possible for two men to share the same voice? The whole situation was suspicious, and anything he came up with now was mere speculation – a waste of time, even, because while he was here speculating about voices, his wife and son might be in great peril. His kingdom might be in danger. He had to get back, now. He’d already wasted too much time trying to figure out which portal would take him back to Baron, he really couldn’t afford to waste more time.

With a slight limp in his step, and his hand clutched firmly over his right side where he’d been struck earlier, Cecil slowly but surely managed to make it over to the next portal. It had taken him a good number of hours just to track this baby down, partially because the portals appeared in random locations and you could go on for days, even weeks before finding one, but mostly because his injuries were slowing him down. He’d patched himself up a little with makeshift band aids and whatnot, but he’d need to see a healer to fix him up properly. All of that could wait though, he could still fight, and although ‘Kain’ had caught him off guard with moves he usually didn’t use, the king of Baron would be ready for him this time. If one good thing had come of his defeat, it was that he’d been able to learn some about his enemy’s attack pattern. He’d still have to be cautious of other hidden moves, but at least he had a good idea of his basic moves right now. That should be enough to at least offer assistance to the ones who were already fighting him as we speak. But he couldn’t offer any assistance so long as he was trapped in another world, so first things first.

Without a moment’s hesitation, the paladin walked right into the portal, silently praying that this would be the one to take him home at last. Despite having travelled through these things numerous times in the past, he still felt a little nauseous whenever he passed through one, though this time the fact that he’d suffered a lot of blood loss was probably a main contributor to his turning stomach as well. It took less than a minute to transport him from the heavily wooded area he’d previously found himself in to what seemed like a ruin. Before he got a good look at the place, he knelt down and stared down at the ground for a second to ease these feelings of sickness before standing back up and looking around. It was already dark outside in this world, but that didn’t matter. Cecil didn’t need light to recognize this place… even in ruins, Baron was quite recognizable to the king. It seemed this was the place he had once called his home – his castle – or what was left of it. Some walls were still standing, but the majority seemed to have crumbled under a powerful attack. With a pained expression both over his injuries as well as the horrible sight before him, the dark night turned paladin unsheathed his sword and began to stagger closer to his once so beautiful home. “Rosa!” he bellowed out as loud as he could into the darkness of the night, “Ceodore!” gods, please let them be alright.

As awful as it was to see his home in ruins, the fact remained that castles and cities could be rebuilt in time, but people’s lives… once they’d ended, there was no way to bring them back, as far as he knew. “Edge… R-Rydia…” his legs finally gave in to his fatigue, and before he knew it, he’d fallen down to his knees as he stared again at the ruin of his home. Their old room lay in ruin, had Rosa been in there when the attack came? Had she been able to make it out in time? Had any of them been able to escape this destruction? Letting out a grunt of pain as he forced his body back into action, Cecil climbed back to his feet and slowly walked closer to the crumbled walls of his old chambers. He set his sword down against a nearby rock before he made the attempt of clearing the rubble and see what was underneath it. The thought of Rosa having been crushed under this wall made his heart ache, and though he really didn’t want to see it, he had to make sure… what if she was under there, still alive and waiting for someone to rescue her? He had to risk it. He had to find his wife, one way or another…

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Words: 945
Tagged: Rosa (Rydia and Edge can show up if they want)
Location: Ruins of Baron (The castle)
Outfit: Damaged armor
Notes: Sad Cecil is sad. Also, I skimmed that other thread, and it said Cecil had gotten beaten up some, so I figured I’d give him some awesome injuries and stuff.

[Rosa Joanna Harvey]

Rosa was exhausted.

She had been trying to find a place for her troops to stay for the last few days, healing them, and trying to mend the pieces that the man had left. Rosa was dead on her feet, but alive. That was what amazed her. She had purposely sent their son away just so that in the event that she would die, and she had thought it a big possibility, then their son would still be alive. He hadn’t liked being taken by force, but it had been for his own good. With a clear mind she had been able to lead the troops into battle. The coming of Rydia and Edge with their own troops had changed the tides from simply being on the defensive and trying to hold them off, to offensive where they could drive the force away. This was the first time Rosa had controlled the soldiers completely by herself, and it had been…strange. Usually she simply backed up Cecil, or offered different ideas to him on what they might be able to do differently. But it had all rested on her shoulders when the man had attacked. If, in fact, he was a man. She was beginning to have her doubts.

And though she was dead on her feet and in need of hours of sleep, Rosa was heading back for the ruins of their castle, in the thought that there might be another unfortunate soldier that was in need of assistance. Or perhaps a body still yet to be found. Rosa didn’t want any mother to not have the body of her child, if that was the case. And so she pushed herself, running on the one hour of sleep forced upon her by Rydia. In the event of a crisis, no queen should sleep while her subjects pushed themselves. With a delicate hand she stifled a yawn that brought moisture to her eyes. She needed some sleep. But she would have one more round on the ruins, though parts of the castle were still largely intact. Getting to the walls of her home was no problem for her. While standing there, however, Rosa stared up at it in the darkness. She wasn’t sure she could muster the strength to climb over the obstacles. As it was, she was swaying on her feet, attempting not to fall over. But she squared her shoulders and started on, running on nothing less than sheer determination to do so.

Climbing over some ruins, Rosa kept a hand brushed up against the wall to balance herself and started to search. Getting deeper and deeper within the castle while she did so. And then-…was that… No. It couldn’t be. She must be going crazy. Still, she had whipped her head up to stare around her, as if hearing his voice would mean that he was there in front of her. That he would be there for her to wrap her arms around and bury her face in his chest. She was exhausted, overcome with worry for her husband, the soldiers, grief for the ones they had lost, and the destruction of her home. She was pushing herself only because she thought she must. With Cecil not there to take the lead, it fell to her, and she hoped she was doing an alright job with taking that lead. Finally she could go no further. Sinking to the ground, Rosa buried her head in her arms and felt the sob come. She hadn’t been able to save their home. She hadn’t been able to keep things smoothly. And she had been terrified, even if she hadn’t shown it. Still was. Terrified that her husband would never come back, and that the man had destroyed him. He certainly had the power.

Tears flowed for a minute before she got a hold of herself. One last half-sob came from her chest, before she hiccuped and a strained laugh came from her. Pathetic. Here she was, crying like some little girl, and yet, she still had blessings. Her son was still alive, her home could be rebuilt, and…and she would find Cecil somehow. Wiping her eyes, Rosa got slowly to her feet and continued on. She hadn’t been to their bedchamber to see if there was anything left there, so that was the first step. The soldiers had recovered the important papers from Cecil’s office, which was in the section that had remained largely intact, but aside from the important things, she hadn’t been in to check. Slowly ascending the crumbled staircase, she walked toward where her bedroom had been. Slow steps, heavy with fatigue. Walking across the ruins, she was looking down when she approached the bedchamber, only to look up and freeze. She thought her mind was playing tricks on her. Staring for a moment, she could only remain where she was. “Ce-…Cecil?”, she finally got out, tears coming to her eyes as she once more swayed on her feet in exhaustion. Holding out her arms, she ran toward him. He looked disheveled, and like her, dead on his feet, but he was there…

Or was it just her mind playing tricks on her?

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Words:; 1058
Muse:; Great!
Tagged:; Caius, Edge, Rydia
Location:; Baron Castle - Ruined bedchamber
Outfit:; Something disheveled looking?
Notes:;
Listening To:;[/color] The Last Night - Skillet

[Cecil Harvey]

He wasn’t even sure what he was doing at this point, digging through the remains of his old home in search of his wife or son. What was the point? If either of them had been buried in this rubble, they’d be long gone by now, and all he would find would be a corpse. Just the thought of finding either Rosa or Ceodore, dead somewhere in the ruin of their castle, was enough to make his stomach turn, and for a moment, he stopped searching and turned away to keep himself from throwing up over a mere mental image. This was no use, pretty much the entire castle lay in ruins, and there was no way he’d be able to clear the place out all by himself. A better idea would be to find survivors elsewhere and ask them what had happened exactly, and what had become of his loved one, but Cecil wasn’t exactly in a state of mind that allowed him to think about this situation logically, maybe it was the blood loss affecting his mind. Then again, he hadn’t lost so much blood that it would make him delirious… or so he thought. He hadn’t checked his injuries in a while, so for all he knew, one of his poorly patched up wounds could’ve opened up again. He was acting on pure emotion as he cleared another piece of rubble out of his path, when he reached down to grab the second, his gauntlets slipped off the smooth surface, and he couldn’t get a proper grip on the rocks. After several more attempts, he simply lost the gauntlets and continued to dig with his bare hands, the sharpened edges of the rocks he moved cut his hands a little, but not enough to make him stop. Honestly, even an entire army wouldn’t be able to stop him from searching for the ones he cared about the most in this world. Even if they were gone, he needed to at least know that for a fact rather than just go off of what others could tell him. He needed to see it with his own eyes, even if the image would forever be burned onto his soul like a scar.

Flinging an old broken closet out of his way, he staggered backwards a little and rested his body against one of the walls that were still standing, just to catch his breath before continuing on. His entire body was screaming at him to lie down and rest, but how could he rest when this was the home he’d come back to? The castle in ruins, his family missing… how could anyone do anything other than what he was doing right now? His head turned slightly when he heard a voice call his name from the side. His mind hadn’t fully registered who the voice belonged to, but his eyes hadn’t failed him yet. As soon as his eyes landed on the angelic figure of his beautiful wife, he nearly dropped down to his knees to thank the gods for having watched over her in his absence, that was, if she was actually there, and not just a figment of his imagination, conjured up by an exhausted but hopeful mind. Nevertheless, his body started moving as though it was an autopilot, and though his injuries did slow him down some, he ran over to where she stood as fast as he could, holding his arms out just as she did. When her body crashed into his own, it was confirmation that she was really here. He wasn’t dreaming. Rosa was alive. Squeezing his eyes tightly shut, the king of Baron immediately wrapped his arms tightly around his queen, wrapping one arm around her shoulders and moving a hand up to cradle the back of her head, moving his fingers through her hair. “Rosa… you’re alive… thank heavens you’re alive…” he breathed out as he tightened his grip on her, any tighter and he’d squeeze her in two, but he just couldn’t help himself at the moment. His mind had conjured up all these horrific potential scenarios, and just to see that they were nothing more than images in his head rather than reality made him so happy and relieved that he completely forgot about anything else around him. So what if the castle was in ruins? So what if he was injured? Rosa was alive, and for now, that was all he really needed.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry I wasn’t here… to protect you, to protect our home… I’m just so sorry,” he whispered into her hair before pressing a gentle kiss against her scalp. If anyone should’ve been forced to deal with the horrors that had taken place here, it should’ve been Cecil himself. He was the king after all, and although Rosa was more than capable of doing all the things he did for their kingdom, it still shouldn’t have been her burden to bear. A sharp pain in his side ruined the happy reunion for him, but rather than worrying about himself, he grasped his wife’s shoulders and held her back a little to look her over for injuries, “Are you alright? You weren’t hurt… were you?” he asked with a worried expression as he pressed her hair to the side a little to check for head injuries, “And Ceodore… is he… is he safe?”

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Words: 901
Tagged: Rosa (Rydia and Edge can show up if they want)
Location: Ruins of Baron (The castle)
Outfit: Damaged armor
Notes: Caius is the reason we can't have nice things. =|

[Rosa Joanna Harvey]

Cecil had come back to her. Rosa’s knees weakened when she saw her husband there in their ruined bedchamber. She knew that tears were streaming into her eyes, for her vision blurred, and desperately she tried to battle them back and clear her vision. Part of her was terrified that it was simply her weariness and blurry vision that was playing tricks on her. What would she do if it did turn out to just be her imagination? But no, that had to be him. Swaying on her feet, Rosa tried to make heads and tails of this, but finally gave up. Opening her arms toward him, a little whimper came from her throat while she hastened to get to him and squeeze the life out of him, or throw herself in his arms and cry into his shoulder until she could be certain that he was actually there in the flesh and not just part of her active imagination and frayed nerves.

He crashed into her, his strong arms cradling her shoulders. Rosa clung to the front of his armor on his chest, resting her forehead against his shoulder as her body shivered and shook. Desperately she clung, as if letting go would make him magically disappear in front of her eyes. There was nothing beyond him. She didn’t care about their ruined home, or the repairs that needed to be done. Rosa cared about nothing but her family being safe and sound. While she thought about it, a little half sob came from her body, the tension that had built finally being released. She’d been terrified that she might not see him again, or that her son might be killed before the seasoned warrior could get him away, or that she had failed completely and Baron might be completely destroyed. Lives had been lost of course, but there had been no way to completely avoid that. Rosa hadn’t actually been alone in that mess, with Rydia and Edge and their ‘army’ having appeared, but without her husband at her side, she had felt like a part of her was missing. Still, she had shouldered the responsibility and done her best in the situation she had been given. Breaking down hadn’t been an option, but now, in the arms of her husband, she could do just that.

“I thought-…”, she started with her voice croaking slightly, pressed against him, her head tucked in his shoulder. “I thought he’d killed you,” she finally got out, tears wetting his garments, but she couldn’t seem to stop them completely, though she did try. Instead she closed her eyes and relaxed against him, content to just hold him and thank the heavens as well that he hadn’t been taken from her. She shook her head slightly when he tried to apologize, but couldn’t seem to come up with anything to say, feeling the gentle kiss pressed against her forehead. “Please don’t be sorry. I couldn’t save it, I tried…” she said softly. Rosa had tried her hardest, done her best to save their home, but the castle had been overwhelmed with demons that the man had summoned at his beck When it all came down to it though, all she really cared about was that her family was alive and still there for her to wake up and see. Never again would she take waking up with her husband beside her for granted.

All too quickly she was pulled away from the warmth and security that being pressed up against Cecil brought. Opening her eyes, she noticed the worried look in his eyes as he asked her if she had been hurt and quickly shook her head back and forth. “No, I managed to remain, for the most part, unscathed.” Just as quickly, she noticed that he seemed to have injuries. It didn’t take much for her to notice those things, being a healer from early age. Touching his cheek with her hand, Rosa assessed him in one quick motion and wiped the tears from her eyes. This wasn’t the time to be crying all over him. “You’ve been hurt though.” Quickly she drew her second hand up and both of them started to glow white. Controlling it on the palm of her hand, she pressed her hands over his chest, allowing her magic to transfer from her hands to his body.

His question about Ceodore made her caress his cheek again. “He’s alive. I had one of the generals take him away right after the fight broke out,” she said softly. “I might have bruised his pride a bit when I commanded the general to take him by force, but I already thought I had lost you, I couldn’t-“, her voice cracked at the thought, before she cleared her throat, composed herself and continued. “I couldn’t lose him too.” Fresh tears formed in her eyes, before she tucked herself back up against him, just wanting to be held. “He wasn’t happy about it.” A little laugh escaped her lips, which sounded odd to her own ears, a bit strained. “I think he got his stubborn streak from you.” Of course it was from Cecil and not from her. Of course it was, no matter what Kain said.

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Words:; 1101
Muse:; Great!
Tagged:; Cecil (not Caius, Edge, and Rydia...stupid word doc having it on last time)
Location:; Ruined bedchamber
Outfit:; Something battley
Notes:; aiudfhlasiudhflus
Listening To:;[/color] Unbreakable - Fireflight

[Cecil Harvey]

All was not lost. Even though the castle lay in ruins, and it would take years for it all to be restored to the way it was, all was not lost. When he’d first stumbled his way back into his own world, he’d been devastated and terrified about what had happened. He’d worried for his people, his army, but most importantly, he’d worried about his wife and son. He could handle his castle and his kingdom being in ruins, harsh though that might sound, but he couldn’t handle the thought of Rosa being buried underneath the rubble, or Ceodore lying somewhere in a pool of his own blood. Perhaps those thoughts were what drove him to push through the pain of his injuries and rush towards his wife when he spotted her a small distance away from him; he needed to make sure it was really her. He needed to make sure that those horrific images his mind had already conjured up were nothing but flashes, and not reality. As soon as his arms wrapped around his wife and he heard her voice, he sighed in relief and tightened his grip on her body. No matter what else had happened in his absence, just knowing that Rosa was safe and sound was enough to bring a rush of joy flowing through his body once more. “Shh, it’s alright…” he chuckled when she sobbed a little, not because he was feeling cheerful, but because he was just feeling so happy and relieved to know that he hadn’t come back entirely too late. It had been too late for Baron, but again, Baron could be fixed. Nothing would ever be able to replace Rosa though, not a million other women would be enough to live up to the standard that his amazing wife had set for him by agreeing to marry him years ago already. “I don’t die that easily, love,” he whispered gently, stroking her back comfortingly with one hand and squeezing her shoulder with the other, “You did well, Rosa, trust me. That man wasn’t… human. Not exactly. When we fought…,” he trailed off a little, shaking his head at the memory of that fight. If he could’ve just beaten that Kain imposter then, all of this could’ve been avoided. Cecil was rarely one for moping about what had happened in the past though, preferring to look towards the future instead, and he wasn’t about to change now. “I… can only imagine what you must’ve gone through in my absence.” At least she was alright, so whatever disaster the man had caused, it hadn’t been too much for Rosa to handle. Then again, Rosa was a strong woman. He fully believed that she would’ve been able to withstand anything the man had thrown her way, who knows, maybe she’d handled the situation better than even Cecil could have.

Taking a step back and holding her out for him to inspect, Cecil sighed again when he found no sign of injury. He smiled when Rosa informed him she wasn’t hurt. “Thank heavens for that,” he told her, grasping the hand she’d rested on his cheek and leaning into her touch. When she started to inspect him, Cecil looked down as well at his own injuries. Somehow, he’d forgotten all about those already, he’d been more concerned with everybody else – specifically Rosa and Ceodore – to worry about his own wellbeing. “Just a little,” he smirked, trying to look tough by denying the severity of his wounds. He’d live even without Rosa’s magic, but he couldn’t deny feeling a hell of a lot better when she did heal him. Those injuries had caused him quite a bit of trouble, and perhaps without them, he would’ve been able to return to Baron sooner. “What would I do without you, my queen?” this time it was his hand to briefly caress her cheek as she healed him, brushing some of her hair aside and pressing a few locks behind her ear. When she again pressed herself against him as she told him about what had become of their son, Cecil gladly embraced her once again. If he had it his way, he’d never let her go again after what had happened and how close he’d been to losing her, but he was fairly certain Rosa would grow weary of an overly clingy husband and tell him to go entertain himself some other way. He smiled at the thought, and slowly moved his fingers through her hair, truly feeling relaxed for the first time since that Kain imposter had shown his face around here. “I know,” he told her again, hugging her a bit tighter when it seemed she would start crying again. She could cry all she wanted, because to be honest, if Cecil had been a woman, he would’ve been crying by now as well. He was a man though, and men were expected to be tough, so he had a stronger grip on his emotions. He still cracked sometimes though, usually around Rosa because he felt she was the only one who wouldn’t judge him for it. “He can handle it. Every man must have his ego bruised at times, keeps us humble,” he joked, playfully poking her cheek before wrapping his arms fully around her again, and laughing merrily at her statement. “Me? I beg to differ my lady, I seem to recall a certain young woman sneaking aboard my vessel when I specifically instructed her not to.” In the end, he was glad Rosa and Rydia had decided to disobey his and Edge’s wishes and come aboard anyway, because they truly couldn’t have won that fight without them. Sometimes he was a little too protective over his loved ones, but he only did it because he cared for them so deeply, which was something Rosa understood but purposely ignored at times, because she too had that same trait of wanting to keep others safe. Was this a match made in heaven or what?

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Words: 1002
Tagged: Rosa! <3
Location: Ruins of Baron (The castle)
Outfit: Damaged armor
Notes: <33

[Rosa Joanna Harvey]

His chuckle turned her half sobs to hybrid sob-chuckles as well. For such a long time, she had repressed all emotion and simply done her duty. She was the queen after all, and that meant that she put the people before her own comfort or needs. It meant that she would have fought to the death to protect her home and even the soldiers within it, despite them thinking it was her that they were protecting. The terrors the man had produced were more than most could handle, even herself despite trudging through it, and now after the fact, her body craved its release of all the suppressed emotions and feelings. Unfortunately for her poor husband, he was what had finally triggered that release, and so she was soaking the front of him with her tears, while hiccuping every once in a while. “I kn-..ow,” she hiccuped when he told her it was alright, though perhaps her actions didn’t show it. Happy tears, they would be a mystery through time.

When he told her that he didn’t die that easily, she finally got a grip on herself, wiping her tears from her eyes and nodding against his chest. “I know, but that doesn’t mean you cannot die.”, she mentioned firmly, tilting her head to the side to give him a disgruntled, motherly look, like she did when she reproved her son from his wrong thinking. As much as she thought he was the strongest man alive, she knew that wasn’t the case. But he was right, he didn’t die easily, and so she shouldn’t have worried quite so much as she had, but…that was easier said than done, just like she doubted he would have stopped worrying about her knowing that she didn’t die easily. So he was the pot calling the kettle black right now anyway.

She did, subconsciously, need his praise on how she had done while he had been away, mostly because while he was gone, his house, his castle, had been laid to waste, and she had been worrying that he would be disappointed severely about it. She never should have doubted her reasonable husband though, as he seemed to think the same as her, and that the castle really didn’t matter. And it truthfully didn’t. Material possessions could be regained again, but family could never be replaced, no matter what anyone else said. She nodded against his chest again when he mentioned he hadn’t seemed human. “He…he turned into some flying beast…right before our eyes. I’ve never seen anything like it…” Trailing off, she closed her eyes and relaxed. His concern actually got her into a teasing mood, even despite how tragic the whole situation was. “Only a few collapsed castles. Just don’t leave me again like that. It’s so much easier handing the responsibility to you and going to get my hair done whenever tragedy strikes.”, she mentioned softly to tease him, since she always did her part in any situation that arose.

When she was drawn back from him she noticed that he had injuries, despite him seeming to have forgotten about them in his concern for herself. They looked fairly severe, so she freed her hands and lifted them to settle over his chest, raising an eyebrow when he mentioned that it was just a little injury, and tried to act all manly like he did. Though she did smile at how obvious he was at straightening up and looking manly, she didn’t comment on it, just leaned her chin into his hand while she healed him and then tucked herself up and under his chin in contentment. “I don’t know, honestly. You’d lead a boring life full of no surprise and pay someone to pick out your clothes for you,” she mentioned in a joking voice, rising up to place a kiss on his chin before settling down again.

Dear heavens, it felt like she was when she was pregnant all over again, with her emotional changes that happened so quickly. One minute she was happy and the next minute she was wanting to cry. At the thought of Ceodore being killed, she wanted to do just that, happy when her husband closed his arms around her tighter, a slight shiver running through her spine. Luckily he seemed to have this magical effect on her so that she could be joyous. “You sound as if you speak from experience,” she mentioned after he spoke of egos being bruised. Of course she had never bruised his ego. Oh no…neeeeever. Reaching up a hand to tug at his long silver hair lightly, Rosa leaned her head back to take mock offence at his words. “There was no sneaking involved in that at all. We simply walked lightly and you didn’t pay attention,” she said with a smile. “Besides, you wanted us there, you just wouldn’t admit it, silly husband of mine. I was simply being intuitive!”

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Words:; 1055
Muse:; Great! :3
Tagged:; Cecil
Location:; Ruined castle
Outfit:; Something!
Notes:; The cute...is cute. It's very cute
Listening To:;[/color] Duck and Run - 3 doors Down

[Cecil Harvey]

He was injured, covered in mud, and slowly drowning (or his shirt was anyway) in an ocean of Rosa’s tears. He must’ve looked more like a hobo at that point than a king, but Cecil found himself not caring whatsoever. The most important thing was that his wife and son were alive, that his castle lay in ruins was just a minor inconvenience in his eyes, though he was sure he would change his mind on that later, when he’d gotten over this incredibly high feeling he was experiencing now that he knew Rosa hadn’t been taken from him. He’d have to rebuild what was lost, and that wasn’t just a few buildings… he’d also have to rebuild his people’s trust in him, because surely they’d noticed that their king had vanished when they needed him to protect them most. Sure, he could tell them what had happened, that he hadn’t left willingly, but there was little point in doing so. Some would understand, but still be concerned about their leader being bested by someone – anyone – else in a one on one fight. The trust they felt towards him had been damaged, and it would take a while to earn it back. Rosa, he imagined, would be dealing with the exact opposite. She’d been here during the attack and gave it her all to defend not just her own family but their families as well. The people would look up to her for taking control like that in such a tragic situation. Maybe he should let Rosa rule the country for a while, though he doubted she would enjoy that. Still, it was a possibility.

“Well…” he started cheekily when Rosa told him he could still die even if he didn’t die easily, but whatever smart comment he’d held on the back of his tongue, he instantly swallowed it away again when he noticed the look she was giving him. It was a look usually reserved for their son, and Cecil had frequently seen her do it, smiling joyfully to himself that he wasn’t on the receiving end of that scowl, but now it seemed he was. Poor, poor Ceodore, his mother really could be intimidating if she wanted to be. Many people thought she was a gentle, soft-spoken woman, and though that wasn’t entirely false, it wasn’t entirely true either. She could make grown men tremble in their boots, should she have the desire to see them like that. No doubt that Kain imposter had seen that side of her as well. “Yes love, sorry love…” he replied finally, hanging his head a little and trying to puppy eye her into dropping the scary eyes.
The next subject though, the subject of that actual Kain imposter, made Cecil want to put out his scariest glares as well. He still couldn’t believe the man had bested him like that and had actually flung him into a portal. Cecil wasn’t sure who he was more upset with, the man who attacked him and later wrecked his home, or himself for not having possessed the strength to take him down and prevent all those tragedies from ever happening. He supposed it was all in the past now… and there was nothing he could do to change what had already happened. Maybe he could learn something from this experience, firstly, he’d never underestimate or make assumptions about his enemies again, and second… his wife was even more amazing than he’d thought. “I wasn’t going to say, but your hair really has seen better days,” he teased back with an almost boyish grin. They weren’t kids anymore, but he certainly didn’t feel like an old man with Rosa around. She always had had that effect on him, making him feel better sometimes without even saying anything. He wasn’t sure what he would’ve done had she declined his marriage proposal, in all honesty, he would’ve probably still been alone, because how could he settle for less? And whoever he would consider ‘second best’ didn’t deserve to be in a marriage like that either. Too many royal marriages were like that already, and Cecil counted himself lucky for being one of the few that actually loved his wife and was loved by her in return. “Hey, hey!” he protested, “I will have you know I have an amazing sense of style…” which was why he always pretended to be asleep long enough for Rosa to get up and prepare his clothes, but those were minor details. Nothing important. Nope. “Oh… perhaps…” he mumbled about the subject of his ego. His ego had been bruised plenty of times, usually by Rosa, and she knew it too. In fact, he was fairly sure she liked bruising his ego from time to time, just to make sure he understood who really wore the pants in their relationship. Standing here, being healed by Rosa after she’d been the one to handle the fight against their enemy, he really did feel like she was the one in charge. The heroic queen who just allowed her husband to think he was a big shot. That was an amusing thought that probably did have some truth to it at least.

“No, no, there was definitely sneaking involved. If I didn’t hear it, that meant you were sneaking,” amazing man logic right there, and the sad part was that he actually believed this to be the truth, “I might have been a little conflicted about that situation…” he admitted with a grin, “You are kind of like my secret weapon. They never expect a sweet looking woman such as yourself to be so powerful. It catches them by surprise,” that… was kind of the truth too, wasn’t it? “I also worried for your safety when you were out of my sight,” he sighed, “And Rydia’s of course… you are so dear to me, I wouldn’t know what to do if anything ever happened to you,” He gently caressed her cheek as he continued to speak, “It was like that then, it is like that now, and it will likely remain that way until the day we die.” It might sound a little patronizing, considering she’d shown more than once now that she could take care of herself, but he really couldn’t help feeling this way. Cecil was protective over his loved ones, perhaps overprotective, but was that really a bad thing? It was better to care too much than to not care at all, that was what he believed anyway. “Let’s go back to where you’re staying right now. I’m sure our son is worried about you.”

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Words: 1103
Tagged: Rosa!
Location: Ruins of Baron (The castle)
Outfit: Damaged armor
Notes: In case the lipstick wasn't a clear giveaway, here's the confirmation of Rosa's state as man in the relationship.

[Rosa Joanna Harvey]

Rosa continued to give her husband the same motherly look that she gave her own son while she remained there in his arms. “Well nothing.”, she said just as cheekily to his comment that he had trailed off with, poking him in the chest lightly while she said it. To be perfectly honest, he had scared her senseless with his disappearance, and though he couldn’t help what had happened, nor could he help his disappearance, Rosa did need to remind him from time to time that he was indeed mortal. Sometimes she really did wonder if he himself knew that fact, or if she was going to have to keep reminding him of it. Judging by his expression though, he was at least a bit remorseful, even giving her those eyes that he knew she couldn’t resist. At least not from him, Ceodore’s eyes she had learned quickly to not be effected by. But Cecil…well, he had a much different charm to hold over her, so she had to admit that she felt her resolve melting before her eyes. She couldn’t quite help the softening of her firm, motherly expression, nor could she resist wrapping her arms around him again. “Oh alright, you win. I try not to worry, it just happens.”, she mentioned sheepishly.

His comment brought a mock gasp, and then laughter. “Cecil Harvey! You take back any comments about my hair right this minute.” She had leaned back and was again giving him a mock glare, as if she had caught him with his hands in the cookie jar, and even waggled her finger underneath his nose. “I was going for the ruggedly messy look, and I think I managed it. So…we can be thankful to Kain imposter on one thing anyway. Because of him, I didn’t have to waste any money getting my hair styled in this glorious new fashion.” This was what she loved so much about their relationship, beyond that she actually loved him and such. They were so easy. After almost eighteen years of marriage, perhaps they should be, but however you looked at it, it was extremely easy to get along with him, and they rarely fought. Usually it was all in good fun if they did, and Rosa was able to trust him completely. Life had indeed been good to her, aside from a few bumps here and there. What was life without a few bumps though?

She even managed to keep her face completely straight when he mentioned that he had a wonderful sense of fashion. It wasn’t that he had a bad one really, but she’d been picking out his clothes as part of her daily habit for so long, perhaps she didn’t even know what he would pick out on his own anymore. Rosa didn’t really think anything of her desire to dress him, but she did it almost every day, laying out his clothes while he bathed. And why not? Do what you liked to do. “Mhm, of course.”, she sighed, soothing his ruffled feathers – if any were even ruffled. – To be honest, Rosa knew that she had bruised his ego a few times, but that couldn’t be helped, could it? It kept him humble anyway, and that had to be part of a wife’s job. HAD to be! Or maybe it was that she enjoyed it…but only a teeny tiny bit.

Smiling to him as he mentioned that it had to be sneaking, Rosa continued to shake her head, her aqua eyes sparkling. “But would we ever try to sneak somewhere that we shouldn’t?”, she asked with her innocent features. It felt good, to talk about the past with such a note of humor. Rosa had wondered back then if anything would ever make sense again, especially after Rydia became a l’cie…but it had all worked out, and so she had been content the last how many years. Things were so good…and then this had happened. Still, Cecil was right. They could rebuild their home, that wasn’t a problem if they had each other. Rosa would be content to stay there forever, gently stroking her husband’s cheek and bantering with him, but she realized that they should be getting back. Even though she had healed him, he would no doubt want to rest for some time. “You need the rest as well husband, need I remind you?” Uncurling herself from him, she opened her fingers to take his hand.

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Words:; 963
Muse:; Good!
Tagged:; Cecil
Location:; Ruined castle
Outfit:; Something?
Notes:; Worst ending ever...
Listening To:;[/color] By Myself - Linkin Park