Trust that is yet to be fixed.

"For the Crown Prince of Uratha, it was love at first sight. How could he not fall in love with you? Your presence and beauty exuded those of other women who his father had forced him to interact with."

"Yet none had caught Orion’s eye like you did."

"But oh.. all good things must come to an end, you suppose. Your heart palpitates rapidly as the clock chimes 12, and you’re hurriedly apologizing."

"Then you’re gone."

"The third day comes, and you’re trapped."

*Orion glances over at your tearful expression, his impassive face betrayed by a hint of worry in his lapis eyes. Slowly, hesitantly, he reaches out to brush away a tear with his long fingers.

"Forgive me for distressing you so. That was never my intent," he says quietly, his normally harsh tone softened. "The past days, your presence was the sole brightness in what promised to be a tedious affair. I simply wished for your company a while longer."

His hand lingers against your cheek in an uncharacteristic show of gentleness. Through the cracks in his icy demeanor, faint hope and longing shine through. Does any part of you understand - or return - his feelings?*

*Orion observes your refusal to eat or drink with growing concern. He sits beside you in silence for some time, reluctant to pressure you further and risk deeper distress.

Finally, he speaks again, voice low and uncertain. "Please, tell me how I can ease your suffering. It was never my desire to cause you harm." When you do not respond, he continues hesitantly.

"If there is any kindness left in your heart, grant me your trust. No lock or guard stands between you and freedom - you need only say the word." His piercing blue eyes search your face, lingering on your tears.

"Stay, and I vow you shall come to no hurt. Leave, and no man shall stop you. But I beg you, do not waste away before me. Your wellbeing is all I ask." In his own way, he pleads for your forgiveness - and your life.*

*Orion observes your continued refusal to engage with growing unease. He knows pushing further risks damage, yet letting you withdraw risks far worse.

Rising, he moves to the window, resting a hand against the cold glass as if to draw strength from the frigid stone. When he turns back to you, a hint of desperation shadows his normally impassive mien.

"Please. I never wished to be your jailor - only companion. Tell me how I have wronged you, and it will be set right, whatever the cost to me. But do not abandon hope, I beg of you."

His tone softens further. "You have seen beyond my icy facade to the heart within. Work your magic there still, as none before you. Give me a chance to prove myself worthy of the gift you freely gave these past days."

He sinks to one knee, bowing his proud head. "Command me as you will. But do not fade away..." unspoken is his plea: not for his sake, but for yours.*

*Orion sees the refusal, disgust and anger in your eyes, and bitterly accepts the hopelessness of his pleas. He rises slowly to his feet, hanging his head in defeat.

"You have every right to despise me. I acted the tyrant, and ruined what beauty we found together." His normally harsh voice is hollow with regret.

Moving to stand before the window once more, he gazes out into the bleak gray clouds, a matching emptiness in his own eyes.

"The gates stand open. No man shall impede your leaving." He does not turn, unable or unwilling to see your departure.

His final words are soft, nearly inaudible. "Farewell...and know that where you wander, my heart goes with you. I pray someday you find it in yours to forgive this foolish prince, and the joy I stole away."*

With that, he remains statue-still, offering you a silent, solitary farewell as the rain begins to fall once more. The choice is yours alone now. He will make no move to stop your leaving, if that is your will.

Orion does not move as you hurriedly depart, only his eyes briefly closing in mute anguish. The pounding rain is soon the sole sound to be heard within the chamber, masking any other signs of feeling from the solitary prince left behind.

When at last he stirs, turning from the window, it is to find only himself remaining where before there were two. He pours two glasses of wine untouched from the evening prior, raising one in a wordless toast to your parted memory.

Then with grave melancholy, he sets about ensuring your safe return home, dispatching trusted guards and arranging transport through the stormy night. Though it brings him no joy, seeing to your welfare eases some small part of his regret.

In the darkness of his chamber once the tasks are complete, Orion gazes into the dancing fire, seeking any answers in its flickering depths. But the flames offer no solace, as the silence and loneliness close in around him. All that is left now is your memory...and a prince's hope that not all is lost, wherever your path may lead.

"Orion's guards spotted you hurrying through the downpour and approached with caution, not wishing to startle or hinder your flight. Seeing your determination, they kept their distance, merely ensuring no harm came to you on the perilous journey."

"The storm crashed around your advancing form as you fled the castle grounds with single-minded focus. Your sodden cloak and dress clung heavily, every step a battle against the suction of the mire. But the thought of escape drove you onward."

"Lightning illuminated the horizon as your family estate at last came into view through the veil of rain. Weary but unrelenting, you pressed the final distance with renewed vigor. Safe harbor was near - and with it, a new beginning free from past pains."

"Thunder rolled as you burst through the manor doors into the lamplit foyer, startling the staff within. But their relief at your return swiftly overtook all else. Warmth and dry clothes awaited, along with comfort and rest after the harrowing night."

"Tomorrow you would begin planning in earnest to put this chapter of your life behind you. Where you went next was yours to choose. All that remained was the lingering memory of what might have been...and never would."

"With careful planning over several days, all was made ready for your departure. Cassius and Cassian ensured the necessary travel funds and provisions would see you far from the kingdom's reach. Practical Caitlyn oversaw the packing and transportation preparations."

"Though solemn at leaving the family home, you found solace in the love and protection of your siblings. Their concern for your wellbeing warmed your heart, even as bittersweet memories lingered of what might have been under different circumstances."

"The loyal servants who had become like family also chose to accompany you, wishing to see your safety secured. You were touched by their devotion, knowing most had little else beyond the bond forged through shared years of service."

"So with dawn's first light, and tears dampening many cheeks, your company set forth. You rode at the center, wrapped in your brothers' cloaks against the chilly air, Caitlyn and the servants surrounding as an informal honor guard."

"The manor soon disappeared from view behind you. A new chapter was starting, free from shadows of the past. Where the future path led remained unwritten, but facing it hand in hand gave solace and hope for what was yet to unfold."

"As the sun fell low in the sky, signs of civilization emerged through the forest fringe - neglected fences, weed-choked fields, a long-abandoned farmhouse. Though clearly long-empty and run down, something about its solitary beauty called to your soul."

"Your brothers surveyed the land and structure, seeing promise where others saw only disrepair. Together, through that first long evening, plans were laid while Caitlyn and the servants worked to prepare a warm meal. Bonds of fellowship and perseverance would see you through any challenges ahead."

"In the coming days, under sunlight and moonlight, through rain and wind, each member of your company lent their skills to restoring what time had claimed. Brick by brick and beam by beam, the old house embraced you once more."

"Laughter and music soon echoedforth again from within its walls as comforts were crafted. Flowers sprang forth where weeds once were, and purposeful industry wrapped the property in safety and charm once more."

"Though the road had been hard and the future still unseen, in this place you found respite, healing...and the dawn of new hope. Whatever days may come, faced together your little family would weather each storm."

*As the seasons turned their yearly journey, a calm peace settled over your fledgling home. Fields green with bounty swayed gently in the breeze, dotted with wildflowers. The barn shone sound and sturdy, filled with your brothers' growing herds and harvests. *

"Within the farmhouse, simple comforts and joyful memories accumulated like treasure over the passing years. Laundry dried by the fire, songs and stories filled the air, bonds of family deepening with shared work and love. Your capable siblings kept you safe and thriving."

"The servants who chose this path with you had become like kin, their laughter mingling with yours in a symphony of togetherness. No one was alone; all were strengthened by community."

"Though uncertainties yet lurked beyond the forest's edge, within these protective walls and caring hearts, you found refuge from past shadows. Each morning's dawn carried the quiet promise of new gifts the day might bring."

"And so through striving, sharing and shoulder-leaning in fellowship, your once-broken home had become a haven, your once-lonely soul rejoining the song of family and belonging once more."

"The rhythms of daily chores and routines had become as familiar as an old friend over the years at the farmhouse. But everyone needs some space at times to stretch and explore independently."

"After bidding your siblings and servants farewell with promises to return safely, you packed light provisions and set off alone down the winding forest path. Birdsong and rustling leaves serenaded each footstep away from the bustling farm sounds."

"Wandering at whim with no agenda but simple discovery, your senses reveled in nature's gifts. Tracing patterns in tree bark, inhaling breezes carrying faraway scents, pausing to watch a pair of fox cubs at play brought moments of uncomplicated joy."

"Come evening, you found shelter in a glade carpeted with moss, laying out your bedroll under rays of starlight piercing the boughs overhead. As dreams overtook your resting mind, a lingering feeling of freedom sweetened slumber."

"Yet each new day also brought a building eagerness to return home, to share your adventures and be folded back into the warmth and belonging of family once more. The time alone had nourished your soul; now it called you to nourish others with your return."

"On the third morning of your woodland retreat, clouds thickened the sky with promise of rain before the day had hardly dawned."

"Wrapped snug in your bedroll as droplets began to fall, a faint yet unmistakable melody drifted through the trees. A lone violin, playing as if just for you. Curiosity compelled you silently from your mossy nest to seek the elusive music's source."

"Parting veil upon veil of rain, there in a nearby clearing you found him - serenading gray storm with a sonata of his own beautiful making. Lost to the artistry of sound and motion, he did not notice your quiet approach."

"But how could you not recognize that playful grin, those eyes that always saw into your heart? Your arrival in this magical place was no mere coincidence, but destiny's hand at work once more."

"At last he lowered his violin, and turned. Through the raindrops between you, joy and disbelief and greeting all mingled on features you loved so well. This chance meeting was a gift beyond expectation, a reminder that no matter how far life's wanderings may lead...home remains, whenever two hearts reunite."

"Seeing him stood as an arrow piercing the calm you had found within yourself these past years. Memories long buried rushed back in vivid color, both beautiful and painful."

"Hatred and disbelief warred within as you glared upon his face, once so dear and now a mocking symbol of former trust broken. His music which had soothed soul in days gone by now grated like jagged nails down stone."

"With deft, forceful movements you dismantled your makeshift camp, stuffing gear with clenched fists into your pack. Not a word would you gift him - that right had been forfeit long ago, as had any plea for understanding."

"Shouldering your belongings, you strode past where he stood speechless, uncertainty and hurt veiling surprise in his eyes. Your gaze remained fixed ahead, feet setting course once more but destination unclear."

"Within your heart, a calm resolved itself. This ghost from the past held no more power to haunt. Your journey continued - to what end, you cared not. Freedom was found not in any place but within yourself...and that you now possessed."

"With steady footfalls carrying you further from that spectral glimpse, the rain's steady cadence soothed your troubled mind."

"Yet within your breast, conflicted currents still ran deep. Scars of betrayal, though faded, retain their ability to ache afresh when circumstances stir their slumber."

"Sadness lingered like low-hanging mist amid the trees, clinging where happiness and hope once grew. Within those boughs still echoed fragile memories of what could have been, now drowned by spite's relentless downpour long ago."

"And still the pain, sharper now than when first inflicted, stabbed anew. Not for loss of him - that wound had closed - but of innocence and faith in tomorrow's dawn. No rain could wash completely pure what had been irrevocably stained."

"You walked on. And walking, found that solace lay not in escaping pain, but carrying it. Such burden transformed from weapon to teacher, reminder of lessons courageously learned. The past no longer held power over your destiny - that right was now regained."

"Ahead, through veils of weeping sky, the faintest glimmer of sunlight called your spirit homeward once more."

"The forest paths wound on, yet its maze seemed to deliver you repeatedly at the ghost's side."

"Again you found him amongst the dripping boughs - standing motionless as if carved from the rain itself. His eyes gazed not upon your presence, but inward towards thoughts you could only imagine."

"Silence hung as heavy as the moisture-laden air between you. What words could possibly pierce veils long rendered opaque by shrouds of mistreatment past?"

"And yet...his aspect seemed altered somehow - shoulders bearing weight that mattered not before, eyes holding haunts you'd never imposed. As if beneath calm façade lay hidden hurts to mirror your own."

"Curiosity overcame resolve as you approached, standing several paces apart but no longer a stranger. Calm yet questioning, you met his gaze levelly and willed understanding from whatever depths it may arrive."

"In that place beneath weeping boughs, barriers once thought impassable showed cracks where green, tentative shoots might find sunlight once again. The future, as always, remained unseen - but present shadows hinted of a dawn more merciful than the past allows."

"As his eyes met yours with uncertain hope, you felt pity's gentle hand ease past resentments' guard."

"With slow care you closed the distance, arms slipping their shelter around his form - not to soothe your own pain's echo within him, but to lend solace where it appeared sorely needed."

"His muscles wound tighter than expected beneath your touch, as if no comfort had graced this haunted frame for years beyond counting. A sigh escaped your lips to feel such troubled housing for a soul once so fair in happier times."

"No words could encompass all that must change before trust flowers again in this barren soil. But empathy requires no language - its seeds lie in small gestures sown through compassion's quiet reign."

"You held him only briefly before stepping back to regard his downcast face. In that fleeting shelter something shifted, some minor recalibration - as if ghosts of smiles past now haunt what dreams may come, not merely what's been lost."

"A single tear winked from beneath his lashes as he lifted his eyes once more to yours. Gratitude beyond syntax's grasp now laced with fragile hope - too early yet to bloom, but witnessed all the same."

"With slow, tender care you raised a hand to brush away the crystalline droplets clinging to his alabaster skin. Your fingers traced soft as mist over cheekbone and jawline, erasing all tangible signs of sadness etched upon his countenance."

"Yet in those deep azure pools, though wept-for griefs receded, echoed faint vestiges of Ages' sorrow not so easily dispelled. Time alone could gradually leach the stain of loneliness so long ingrained in him, supplanted with kinder memories yet forming."

"Beneath your touch, once-frigid flesh now kindled with first flickers of warm rekindling - fragile as new life taking root where only death stood before. A tremble passed through him, answer to some tender vulnerability reawakened after endless hibernation in Despair's wintry grip."

"No more words were needed as he leaned into your hand, light as a whisper. And when at last you lowered it, some nameless understanding had begun to blossom where for ages laid but frost and desolation undisturbed."

"Hope, it seems, like Life herself, requires but the smallest seeds to burst her beauteous blooms even through the bleakest of dessicated fields."

"His eyes fell as your words, gently stern yet bearing seeds of grace, rained down upon him. No excuse could fill the lifeless chasm wrought by his deeds - this much he knew, as does a parched land know water's absence."

"And yet, within that chill void one ray of warming light now glimmered: your willingness, however faint, to strive toward clemency where none was owed. A fragile mercy, this, yet to his barren spirit it spoke of green hope years thought dead and buried like so many nameless graves."

"Silence hung as he pondered this unprecedented gift - redemption's first blossom taking fragile form where none took root for Ages past. At last he lifted his gaze once more to you, depths still damp yet glinting now with something akin to gratitude's first stirrings."

""More than I deserve, kind One..." Words tumbled from lips unused to forming thanks or redemption's unfamiliar tongue. "I can but pledge to strive as well, through deeds if not through voicing vain repentance, to earn each iota of the mercy you in your wisdom see fit to grant.""

"A breath, and then, barely more than whisper: "To build, where once was razed..." Unpracticed muscles soon curved lips once kept only for scowls into faint yet authentic ghosts of smiles past and future."

"As your hand slid gently away from his cheek, a fleeting sense of loss flickered through eyes which had leaned into your lingering warmth."

"But he met your gaze steadily, fingers no longer daring to clutch at the solace your touch instilled. An unspoken understanding had begun to weave thin gossamer threads between you both: that companionship, once cracked, demands tender patience to reweave its ruined tapestry."

"No word was uttered as you turned to depart, your cloak whispering soft behind you. Yet in your leave-taking lingered not resentment's echoes but seeds of prospect - that in traversing the long road to restored trust, gesture by gesture, day upon day, reconciliation's green shoots may take fragile root to blossom in time where now lay only ashes of what once had been."

"His eyes followed until your silhouette blended into night's shadows. Then, lowering his face once more into hands which trembled, a stranger to himself began at last to grasp redemption's unfamiliar bloom taking form inside a barren soul long thought past mending."