[Anna's kind of flying by the seat of her pants, here. There's a lot at stake, but ever since her conversation with Soeki, she's been antsy. He had a point—why wait, when either of them could vanish any day now? She's been doing a lot of thinking, and the only conclusion she can come to is that she wants to ask Lorna to marry her.
So she goes to Lorna's room in the early evening, her grass-hair pulled up into a braided crown, the black hellebore that came in in December striking against her frosted-white leaves and grass. It's startling, these days, to look into the mirror and realize how much she looks like Elsa. She's just about to knock, when the door opens, and Anna finds herself staring Lorna right in the face. Her hand, curled into a fist, pauses in midair, and then she giggles, letting it fall to her side.]
Hi, honeyhooves...I was just coming to talk to you!
[She can, she knows she can - she just has to do it. She just has to sit Anna down, take a deep breath, look her in her pale, beautiful eyes ---]
[And tell her she loves a monster.]
[Right. Easy as pie. Not at all gut-wrenching or terrifying, no sir.]
[Taking a deep breath, Lorna moves to the door, intent on starting her mission Now before she loses her nerve - well, more of it than she already has.]
[She turns the handle, throwing the door open with a burst of forced confidence, only to have that confidence rapidly deflate at the sight of Anna standing right in front of her.]
[She jumps, startled, her hand flying to her heart as she gathers her wits and lets out an embarrassed chuckle. God, but she had hoped she would have had more time to recite her speech in her head on the way to Anna's room, but it looks like she's going to have to skip that little step entirely.]
[Smiling, Lorna tucks a stray lock of hair behind her left horn before reaching out to frame Anna's face between her hands. She places a quick kiss hello between her brows before pulling back so that she can properly hear what she has to say.]
And I you. It seems we're of the same mind today.
[Alright, play it cool, play it cool. She can do this.]
[Making a soft, pleased humming sound, Anna shuts her eyes at the feeling of Lorna's lips pressed to her brow. It makes her feel even more like she's making the right decision. If Lorna can make her this happy with such a small gesture, that can only mean good things.]
W-really? Oh! Well, perfect. We can kill two birds with one stone! Should we just...talk in your room?
[She steps back, feeling foolish for not suggesting the idea herself, and waves for Anna to come inside.]
There's no sense in hovering outside the door when there are chairs for sitting in.
[She's quick to guide Anna over to the aforementioned chairs, which are sat in front of a small tea table by the window. On the sill, soaking up the sun, is a small pot of flowers - the seeds of which Lorna harvested from one of the many blooms in Anna's hair.]
Would you care for tea? I could put the kettle on, let it brew while we chat?
[Gratefully, Anna shuts the door behind them, and starts over toward the chairs by the window. She considers taking Lorna up on her offer of tea, but she thinks about it again and realizes her hands might be shaking a little too much to safely hold a cup of tea right now. So she sinks into a chair, and shakes her head with a soft smile.]
That's alright. I just had an afternoon snack, actually! Um.
[She folds her hands into her lip, trying hard not to fidget.]
[Lorna had been hoping the tea might provide a brief delay before the conversation began in earnest, but alas, it seems fate has other plans in store.]
[Doing her best to seem cool and composed, Lorna takes her seat opposite of Anna, taking her time to neatly adjust her skirt beneath her in an attempt to stall for just a few seconds more.]
Oh? It - [She stops herself, realizing she cannot say that it's nothing important when it very much is, and clears her throat to try again.]
-It can wait. You came all the way here, it's only fair you go first.
[Anna laughs a little. She can't imagine that they'll be able to have much of a conversation once she says her thing, so it's probably best for Lorna to say her piece.
She leans forward in her seat, to show she's listening and that Lorna has her full attention.]
[Lorna can't help the nervous laugh that bubbles up in her throat, nor the way her fingers instinctively reach for an apron to fidget with even though she hasn't worn one in ages.]
[God help her, this is all moving so quickly.]
Nay, I insist. I can wait.
[In fact she can wait until tomorrow, even. Maybe even later than that.]
[Oh, no, she's so nervous. Anna can relate. She feels like she's about to vibrate out of her skin. But she can't possibly go first; it's way too major.
[Lorna can feel a rush of heat creeping up her neck, nerves and embarrassment reaching up to take hold of her. Already she feels mortified, and she hasn't even begun to air out her dirty laundry.]
[Taking a deep breath, Lorna mentally recites a quick prayer before exhaling a tight, resigned sigh.]
[Alright. It's now or never.]
...Well. Alright. I suppose it would be best to speak now and be done with it.
[She reaches across the table, wanting to take Anna's hand between her own. Whether this is for her comfort or Lorna's own, she can't rightly tell.]
You and I...we make quite a pair, don't we? A princess and a pauper. Who ever would have imagined such a thing?
[She smiles a little, almost sadly, before continuing.]
We come from two very different worlds, in more ways than one. In most ways, one could argue. In ways that I...that I've neglected to tell you.
[She swallows, uncomfortable, and looks down at their hands. Absently, she notices teal nailpolish Anna painted her claws with has begun to chip. She'll have to ask her to touch them up later...assuming Anna even wants to speak to her again after this.]
[Pushing that thought away, Lorna continues.]
Anna, my turtledove, I've kept a terrible secret from you. I told myself it was to spare you the pain of knowing, but I realize now I've done you a disservice. You're owed my honesty, no matter how ugly the truth may be.
[Geez, Lorna seems really stressed out about this; Anna chews her lip, worrying for a moment that something might be wrong. But she supposes there's only one way to find out; she gives her girlfriend an encouraging smile and reaches out to take the hands she's offering, giving them a little squeeze.
Her stomach does a few little flips when Lorna begins to explain what it is exactly she needs to tell her, but Anna tells herself it's all going to be fine. In all likelihood, knowing Lorna, it isn't anything that bad in the grand scheme of things.
She nods.]
That's okay! Whatever it is, whatever you need to tell me...just tell me. I promise I won't be mad or anything!
[Lorna has never known Anna to lie about anything, particularly about her own feelings, so she has no reason to doubt her when she says she won't be upset. And yet here she is, quaking in her proverbial boots at the prospect of telling her all she deserves to know.]
[She thinks back on what the man on the network told her, and tries to find her courage. Take heart, she tells herself. If she loves you truly, she will understand.]
...It's not your anger that I fear.
[She admits quietly, her voice soft and reluctant, each word pried forcefully from her throat.]
Disgust, perhaps. Resentment. Horror.
[She has to stop there, her lips pressing together into a thin line as she turns her face away and tries to smother down the sudden wave of emotion that's overcome her.]
[Damn her voice, why can she not speak plainly just this once?]
...You've given your heart to a monster, Anna. I'm sorry. I should have told you from the very beginning. I should have warned you. I should have - Heaven help me, Anna. I should never have let you hold my hand before you saw the blood on it.
[Anna's brows draw together in concern at the way Lorna's struggling with whatever it is she's trying to say. What could possibly be that terrible that she'd think Anna would be so horrified? She pets the back of one of Lorna's hands soothingly. Encouragingly.
When Lorna finally gets out with it, Anna's surprised, but not for the reasons one might expect. After all, she already knows that much, right?
She shakes her head.]
L-Lorna, I don't understand. We're all monsters, here.
[Get it out, she has to get it out, she needs to just say it and get it over with and go back to living whatever she had that constituted as a life before Anna.]
Nay, not always.
[She shakes her head, tries to draw what comfort she can from the tender hands holding hers.]
Not as I have been.
[Damn her eyes, why can't she speak plainly. Enough dancing about, she needs to say what she means and be done with it, spare them both her sniveling.]
Even before this place, I was a monster, a wicked, wretched thing. A dark and terrible spirit had made a home in my body and mind, twisting them both to suit its ghastly appetite.
[She risks a glance up at Anna, only to wince and immediately look back down, too frightened by what she might see there to hold her gaze.]
Our cellar became a crypt. Its walls were lined from end to end with the bones of those whose great misfortune it was to have known me.
[She draws one of her hands away, wiping quickly at the corners of her eyes. Still, she doesn't have the heart to look at Anna.]
...I understand if your heart has turned against me. I don't know why I ever thought I could hold a place in it, being as I am.
[Anna goes very quiet, and very still. Because really, of all the things she's been worried it might be, demonic possession was definitely not one of them. And it cuts her, it hurts, to hear Lorna say that she doesn't feel worthy of her love.
A determined set to her face, Anna bends her head, trying to find Lorna's gaze again. She doesn't pull her hand away; if anything, she grips tighter.]
Lorna...my heart could never 'turn against you.' I don't care what you did, and...and that wasn't even your fault! You couldn't help it, you were...p-possessed, right?
[Lorna doesn't understand. Anna - she must have misunderstood, she must have heard her wrong, or maybe the weight of her words simply haven't sunken in yet - whatever it is, Lorna doesn't hold hope that it will last very long. Any moment now it will all hit her in a rush, and she'll take back her kind, forgiving words and finally see Lorna for what she truly is, for what she's been all this time.]
[Lorna holds her breath, waiting for Anna to come to her senses. She leaves her question unanswered for a moment, then another, afraid to break the silence.]
[Then, when she can bear the silence - and those too-kind eyes - no longer, Lorna finally lowers her gaze and gives a small, sad nod in confirmation.]
...What matter does it make? I might as well have done the killing myself, for what little I could do to stop it.
[She tries, weakly, to pull her hands free from Anna's gentle grip, but her heart isn't in it. It hurts to accept her affection, knowing how terribly misplaced it is, and it hurts just as much to think that this might be the last of it she'll ever see.]
[Even then, she supposes she should take comfort in knowing it's still more than she ever deserved.
[Anna can't understand why Lorna is being so self-flagellating about this. Or rather, she doesn't understand, not until she thinks back to all those years of silence from Elsa. How she'd felt like it was something she'd done wrong, how she'd blamed herself for somehow, unknowingly, driving her sister away from her so forcefully that she'd locked herself away in her room for fifteen years.
And then she gets it.
She doesn't let go of Lorna's hands; quite the opposite, she squeezes them that much more tightly with her own petal-soft fingers.]
Lorna...it's not your fault. You didn't ask for that. You...you're the kindest, sweetest person I've ever known. That isn't you. And—
[She lets go of one hand and reaches out to tilt Lorna's face upward, to rub a thumb over her soft, smooth cheek, and give her an encouraging smile.]
No matter what happened in your past, I love you. I love you so much, Lorna, and nothing could change that. I promise.
[Lorna has never been one to doubt the words of others, regardless of how well she knows them. She trusts, perhaps too readily, that every word she hears is God's honest truth until it is otherwise proven.]
[And yet, when Anna tells her all those things, says everything she hadn't allowed herself to hope for, Lorna cannot help but doubt. It's all too good, too perfect to be true. It's like something out of a storybook, only the genre has taken a sudden shift from a Grimm Tale to a Fairy one.]
[Lorna presses her mouth into a thin line to hide the trembling of her lower lip, but it's no use - the moment Anna's thumb brushes over cheek, her composure crumbles. Her breath hitches, her throat tightens, and her eyes threaten to spill over with tears.]
Oh, Anna...
[She feels so foolish. Foolish for doubting her, for worrying herself sick, for making such a spectacle of herself. It's embarrassing, being so overwhelmed with emotion that she cannot keep herself in check - she doesn't know whether to smile with joy or cry with relief and so she does both, sniffing softly as ducks her head to her shoulder so that she can wipe her cheek dry without freeing her hands from Anna's.]
Whatever did I do to deserve you?
[Her smile is a fragile, shaky thing, but its there all the same.]
[Anna lets out a soft, relieved laugh; even though Lorna is crying, it's infinitely better than seeing her sit there and talk about how 'unworthy' she is. Shaking her head, Anna comes around the side of the table without letting go of Lorna's hands, kneeling down beside her chair and giving both hands a reassuring squeeze.]
You didn't have to do anything, Lorna. You were just yourself, and...and I love you for that.
[Her mind drifts toward the subtle weight in the pocket of her dress. Maybe now isn't the time after all...it's a hard decision to make, but she won't make it until she's a hundred percent sure Lorna is okay.]
["Okay" is perhaps a weak word for how Lorna is feeling at the moment. "Elated" is a better choice, second to "dizzy with relief" and "full to bursting with deep, burning adoration"]
[Poor Anna only gets to kneel down on the floor by herself for a few seconds before Lorna follows after her, dropping down to her knees so that she can more easily wrap her up in an embrace which they both sorely need.]
--And I you. Would that there were words to describe how much.
[Anna's laugh this time is startled; she hadn't been expecting Lorna to join her down on the floor, but she gladly accepts the embrace, nuzzling her chin into Lorna's shoulder. Her heart is pounding a thousand miles an hour, and she's sure Lorna must be able to hear it, the way it's going. But...well, you know when the moment is right, and right now feels pretty damn perfect to Anna.
She pulls back, planting soft kisses on Lorna's cheek, her fuzzy ear, the base of one of her horns.]
Maybe I should...say my thing now.
[One hand reaches into her pocket, reassuring herself that the ring is still there.]
[Though Lorna would have been content to stay as they were for quite a while longer, she doesn't protest when Anna pulls away - rather, she sees it as an opportunity to get a hold of herself, dabbing her face dry with her sleeve while Anna peppers her with three little pecks.]
[Goodness, she can only imagine how red and splotchy her face must look. At the very least, her eyes must certainly be red.]
Oh, of course, of course- I had nearly forgotten.
[She flashes a small, apologetic smile, embarrassed now that she remembers Anna had been waiting all this time to share something of her own.]
[Lorna smooths her hair back, tucking her fringe away from her still-damp cheeks in an effort to tidy herself up a bit after all that emotional tossing and turning she just did.]
What is it you wanted to say, my sweet turtledove?
[Anna's heart feels like it's about to leap out of her throat, but she manages to swallow down her nerves enough to get out what she wants to say. What she's been practicing. In her pocket, her fingers close around the slender ring, and pull it out, still hidden in her palm. One of Anna's vines reaches out to help tidy Lorna's hair, a soft leaf nudging up under her eye to wipe away a tear.]
Well...okay. Whew! Here goes. I've...been thinking a lot, lately, about how time works here, and...and how it's smart to make the most of it. After all, people come and go all the time. And recently, someone smart told me that if I want to enjoy something while I'm here, I should just...go for it, instead of worrying about what might happen.
[Anna clears her throat, the ring feeling like a ship's anchor in her palm. Here goes nothing.]
Anyway, wow, um—what I'm trying to say, is. You make me happier than anyone in this whole world, Lorna, in any world. Being your girlfriend has been like...like a fairytale for me! And I love every single day that we spend together. S-so, I was sort of wondering...
[Now she raises her hand, palm-up, and uncurls her fingers. Inside, nestled in the petals of a white camellia she'd grown on the spot, is a delicate gold ring in the shape of a rose, with a diamond peeking out of its center. This she offers to Lorna with a nervous smile.]
Would you...marry me? Be my wife? And spend the rest of our days together, no matter how many there are?
[Years ago, before she knew better than to ever hope for such a thing, Lorna used to daydream about proposals, weddings, true love and all the other storybook things that weren't allowed to her. Even in her fantasies, she never expected much: boy her age or a touch older, a simple young man of simple means, someone who would take well to Auntie. He would be money-poor but spirit-wealthy, possessing charm and character and a good heart but little else.]
[However, even a dream as simple as that had always seemed too much to ask. To think anyone other than Auntie could ever love her - it was preposterous.]
[And now here she is a lifetime later, watching all those once-forgotten dreams unfold in real life as though they were plucked straight from her mind, only the circumstances are so wildly beyond anything she ever could have pictured even in her most untamed imaginings.]
[She's not being proposed by a young man, but a woman. She does not come from simple means, but royalty, and her heart, charm, and character were only a fraction of the qualities she possesses.]
[Lorna cannot believe this is happening - her mind simply cannot reconcile the reality of the situation with her long-held but now thoroughly obliterated expectations.]
[She blinks rapidly, her stunned, wide-eyes brimming once more with fresh tears, her hands hovering over her mouth as though to stifle a gasp - not that she could utter one even if she tried. Her throat's gone so tight she can scarcely breathe let alone make a sound, and so she answers Anna's question the only way she can.]
[She nods, just once at first, then more rapidly as her composure takes leave of her once again and reduces her to hiccuping softly as she chokes back a sob, her shoulders shaking from the effort of keeping herself from falling to pieces.]
[She leans forward to hug Anna once more, her tail snaking around to wrap around her waist because she simply does not have enough appendages with which to express just how much she loves her.]
[Waiting for Lorna's answer is very nearly agony. There's a moment, when Lorna's just sort of blinking at her and staring, where Anna's worried that she's misread this, that Lorna's fine with them being together, but maybe she'd only want to marry a man...
But then she's nodding and Anna feels herself swept up in joy and relief, her stomach clenching as she realizes that she's saying yes That she didn't make the wrong decision She leans forward into Lorna's embrace with a wet laugh, tears forming in her own eyes now, and laughs in mingled disbelief and utter joy.]
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1/30 - action
So she goes to Lorna's room in the early evening, her grass-hair pulled up into a braided crown, the black hellebore that came in in December striking against her frosted-white leaves and grass. It's startling, these days, to look into the mirror and realize how much she looks like Elsa. She's just about to knock, when the door opens, and Anna finds herself staring Lorna right in the face. Her hand, curled into a fist, pauses in midair, and then she giggles, letting it fall to her side.]
Hi, honeyhooves...I was just coming to talk to you!
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[She can, she knows she can - she just has to do it. She just has to sit Anna down, take a deep breath, look her in her pale, beautiful eyes ---]
[And tell her she loves a monster.]
[Right. Easy as pie. Not at all gut-wrenching or terrifying, no sir.]
[Taking a deep breath, Lorna moves to the door, intent on starting her mission Now before she loses her nerve - well, more of it than she already has.]
[She turns the handle, throwing the door open with a burst of forced confidence, only to have that confidence rapidly deflate at the sight of Anna standing right in front of her.]
[She jumps, startled, her hand flying to her heart as she gathers her wits and lets out an embarrassed chuckle. God, but she had hoped she would have had more time to recite her speech in her head on the way to Anna's room, but it looks like she's going to have to skip that little step entirely.]
[Smiling, Lorna tucks a stray lock of hair behind her left horn before reaching out to frame Anna's face between her hands. She places a quick kiss hello between her brows before pulling back so that she can properly hear what she has to say.]
And I you. It seems we're of the same mind today.
[Alright, play it cool, play it cool. She can do this.]
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W-really? Oh! Well, perfect. We can kill two birds with one stone! Should we just...talk in your room?
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[She steps back, feeling foolish for not suggesting the idea herself, and waves for Anna to come inside.]
There's no sense in hovering outside the door when there are chairs for sitting in.
[She's quick to guide Anna over to the aforementioned chairs, which are sat in front of a small tea table by the window. On the sill, soaking up the sun, is a small pot of flowers - the seeds of which Lorna harvested from one of the many blooms in Anna's hair.]
Would you care for tea? I could put the kettle on, let it brew while we chat?
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That's alright. I just had an afternoon snack, actually! Um.
[She folds her hands into her lip, trying hard not to fidget.]
What is it you wanted to talk about?
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[Lorna had been hoping the tea might provide a brief delay before the conversation began in earnest, but alas, it seems fate has other plans in store.]
[Doing her best to seem cool and composed, Lorna takes her seat opposite of Anna, taking her time to neatly adjust her skirt beneath her in an attempt to stall for just a few seconds more.]
Oh? It - [She stops herself, realizing she cannot say that it's nothing important when it very much is, and clears her throat to try again.]
-It can wait. You came all the way here, it's only fair you go first.
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[Anna laughs a little. She can't imagine that they'll be able to have much of a conversation once she says her thing, so it's probably best for Lorna to say her piece.
She leans forward in her seat, to show she's listening and that Lorna has her full attention.]
What is it?
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[God help her, this is all moving so quickly.]
Nay, I insist. I can wait.
[In fact she can wait until tomorrow, even. Maybe even later than that.]
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She shakes her head.]
No, no, no. Please. You go first.
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[Lorna can feel a rush of heat creeping up her neck, nerves and embarrassment reaching up to take hold of her. Already she feels mortified, and she hasn't even begun to air out her dirty laundry.]
[Taking a deep breath, Lorna mentally recites a quick prayer before exhaling a tight, resigned sigh.]
[Alright. It's now or never.]
...Well. Alright. I suppose it would be best to speak now and be done with it.
[She reaches across the table, wanting to take Anna's hand between her own. Whether this is for her comfort or Lorna's own, she can't rightly tell.]
You and I...we make quite a pair, don't we? A princess and a pauper. Who ever would have imagined such a thing?
[She smiles a little, almost sadly, before continuing.]
We come from two very different worlds, in more ways than one. In most ways, one could argue. In ways that I...that I've neglected to tell you.
[She swallows, uncomfortable, and looks down at their hands. Absently, she notices teal nailpolish Anna painted her claws with has begun to chip. She'll have to ask her to touch them up later...assuming Anna even wants to speak to her again after this.]
[Pushing that thought away, Lorna continues.]
Anna, my turtledove, I've kept a terrible secret from you. I told myself it was to spare you the pain of knowing, but I realize now I've done you a disservice. You're owed my honesty, no matter how ugly the truth may be.
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Her stomach does a few little flips when Lorna begins to explain what it is exactly she needs to tell her, but Anna tells herself it's all going to be fine. In all likelihood, knowing Lorna, it isn't anything that bad in the grand scheme of things.
She nods.]
That's okay! Whatever it is, whatever you need to tell me...just tell me. I promise I won't be mad or anything!
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[She thinks back on what the man on the network told her, and tries to find her courage. Take heart, she tells herself. If she loves you truly, she will understand.]
...It's not your anger that I fear.
[She admits quietly, her voice soft and reluctant, each word pried forcefully from her throat.]
Disgust, perhaps. Resentment. Horror.
[She has to stop there, her lips pressing together into a thin line as she turns her face away and tries to smother down the sudden wave of emotion that's overcome her.]
[Damn her voice, why can she not speak plainly just this once?]
...You've given your heart to a monster, Anna. I'm sorry. I should have told you from the very beginning. I should have warned you. I should have - Heaven help me, Anna. I should never have let you hold my hand before you saw the blood on it.
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When Lorna finally gets out with it, Anna's surprised, but not for the reasons one might expect. After all, she already knows that much, right?
She shakes her head.]
L-Lorna, I don't understand. We're all monsters, here.
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Nay, not always.
[She shakes her head, tries to draw what comfort she can from the tender hands holding hers.]
Not as I have been.
[Damn her eyes, why can't she speak plainly. Enough dancing about, she needs to say what she means and be done with it, spare them both her sniveling.]
Even before this place, I was a monster, a wicked, wretched thing. A dark and terrible spirit had made a home in my body and mind, twisting them both to suit its ghastly appetite.
[She risks a glance up at Anna, only to wince and immediately look back down, too frightened by what she might see there to hold her gaze.]
Our cellar became a crypt. Its walls were lined from end to end with the bones of those whose great misfortune it was to have known me.
[She draws one of her hands away, wiping quickly at the corners of her eyes. Still, she doesn't have the heart to look at Anna.]
...I understand if your heart has turned against me. I don't know why I ever thought I could hold a place in it, being as I am.
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A determined set to her face, Anna bends her head, trying to find Lorna's gaze again. She doesn't pull her hand away; if anything, she grips tighter.]
Lorna...my heart could never 'turn against you.' I don't care what you did, and...and that wasn't even your fault! You couldn't help it, you were...p-possessed, right?
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[Lorna holds her breath, waiting for Anna to come to her senses. She leaves her question unanswered for a moment, then another, afraid to break the silence.]
[Then, when she can bear the silence - and those too-kind eyes - no longer, Lorna finally lowers her gaze and gives a small, sad nod in confirmation.]
...What matter does it make? I might as well have done the killing myself, for what little I could do to stop it.
[She tries, weakly, to pull her hands free from Anna's gentle grip, but her heart isn't in it. It hurts to accept her affection, knowing how terribly misplaced it is, and it hurts just as much to think that this might be the last of it she'll ever see.]
[Even then, she supposes she should take comfort in knowing it's still more than she ever deserved.
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And then she gets it.
She doesn't let go of Lorna's hands; quite the opposite, she squeezes them that much more tightly with her own petal-soft fingers.]
Lorna...it's not your fault. You didn't ask for that. You...you're the kindest, sweetest person I've ever known. That isn't you. And—
[She lets go of one hand and reaches out to tilt Lorna's face upward, to rub a thumb over her soft, smooth cheek, and give her an encouraging smile.]
No matter what happened in your past, I love you. I love you so much, Lorna, and nothing could change that. I promise.
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[And yet, when Anna tells her all those things, says everything she hadn't allowed herself to hope for, Lorna cannot help but doubt. It's all too good, too perfect to be true. It's like something out of a storybook, only the genre has taken a sudden shift from a Grimm Tale to a Fairy one.]
[Lorna presses her mouth into a thin line to hide the trembling of her lower lip, but it's no use - the moment Anna's thumb brushes over cheek, her composure crumbles. Her breath hitches, her throat tightens, and her eyes threaten to spill over with tears.]
Oh, Anna...
[She feels so foolish. Foolish for doubting her, for worrying herself sick, for making such a spectacle of herself. It's embarrassing, being so overwhelmed with emotion that she cannot keep herself in check - she doesn't know whether to smile with joy or cry with relief and so she does both, sniffing softly as ducks her head to her shoulder so that she can wipe her cheek dry without freeing her hands from Anna's.]
Whatever did I do to deserve you?
[Her smile is a fragile, shaky thing, but its there all the same.]
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You didn't have to do anything, Lorna. You were just yourself, and...and I love you for that.
[Her mind drifts toward the subtle weight in the pocket of her dress. Maybe now isn't the time after all...it's a hard decision to make, but she won't make it until she's a hundred percent sure Lorna is okay.]
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[Poor Anna only gets to kneel down on the floor by herself for a few seconds before Lorna follows after her, dropping down to her knees so that she can more easily wrap her up in an embrace which they both sorely need.]
--And I you. Would that there were words to describe how much.
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She pulls back, planting soft kisses on Lorna's cheek, her fuzzy ear, the base of one of her horns.]
Maybe I should...say my thing now.
[One hand reaches into her pocket, reassuring herself that the ring is still there.]
Would that be alright?
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[Goodness, she can only imagine how red and splotchy her face must look. At the very least, her eyes must certainly be red.]
Oh, of course, of course- I had nearly forgotten.
[She flashes a small, apologetic smile, embarrassed now that she remembers Anna had been waiting all this time to share something of her own.]
[Lorna smooths her hair back, tucking her fringe away from her still-damp cheeks in an effort to tidy herself up a bit after all that emotional tossing and turning she just did.]
What is it you wanted to say, my sweet turtledove?
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Well...okay. Whew! Here goes. I've...been thinking a lot, lately, about how time works here, and...and how it's smart to make the most of it. After all, people come and go all the time. And recently, someone smart told me that if I want to enjoy something while I'm here, I should just...go for it, instead of worrying about what might happen.
[Anna clears her throat, the ring feeling like a ship's anchor in her palm. Here goes nothing.]
Anyway, wow, um—what I'm trying to say, is. You make me happier than anyone in this whole world, Lorna, in any world. Being your girlfriend has been like...like a fairytale for me! And I love every single day that we spend together. S-so, I was sort of wondering...
[Now she raises her hand, palm-up, and uncurls her fingers. Inside, nestled in the petals of a white camellia she'd grown on the spot, is a delicate gold ring in the shape of a rose, with a diamond peeking out of its center. This she offers to Lorna with a nervous smile.]
Would you...marry me? Be my wife? And spend the rest of our days together, no matter how many there are?
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[However, even a dream as simple as that had always seemed too much to ask. To think anyone other than Auntie could ever love her - it was preposterous.]
[And now here she is a lifetime later, watching all those once-forgotten dreams unfold in real life as though they were plucked straight from her mind, only the circumstances are so wildly beyond anything she ever could have pictured even in her most untamed imaginings.]
[She's not being proposed by a young man, but a woman. She does not come from simple means, but royalty, and her heart, charm, and character were only a fraction of the qualities she possesses.]
[Lorna cannot believe this is happening - her mind simply cannot reconcile the reality of the situation with her long-held but now thoroughly obliterated expectations.]
[She blinks rapidly, her stunned, wide-eyes brimming once more with fresh tears, her hands hovering over her mouth as though to stifle a gasp - not that she could utter one even if she tried. Her throat's gone so tight she can scarcely breathe let alone make a sound, and so she answers Anna's question the only way she can.]
[She nods, just once at first, then more rapidly as her composure takes leave of her once again and reduces her to hiccuping softly as she chokes back a sob, her shoulders shaking from the effort of keeping herself from falling to pieces.]
[She leans forward to hug Anna once more, her tail snaking around to wrap around her waist because she simply does not have enough appendages with which to express just how much she loves her.]
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But then she's nodding and Anna feels herself swept up in joy and relief, her stomach clenching as she realizes that she's saying yes That she didn't make the wrong decision She leans forward into Lorna's embrace with a wet laugh, tears forming in her own eyes now, and laughs in mingled disbelief and utter joy.]
R-really? You'll really marry me?
Oh my god that icon tho
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