[ I didn’t wish to die. She had not thought of it like that, with Daniel’s body failing him, limbs rattling with his promised, painful end. Astarion had been young, by comparison, of an age with Alicent now. Her mouth parts and purses, coming to terms with her misstep. She wonders, then, if Louis wished to be turned — if Armand and Lestat did, in their primes? Perhaps Daniel is an unusual case, having wrung his humanity for all it was worth, before becoming another creature entirely. ]
Indeed. [ A lifetime ago. And — ] We make our decisions based on what little information we know. That is all we can do.
[ If Astarion were bleeding out, delirious with pain, then any choice he made was not his own. She squeezes his hand, unsure how else to offer comfort, and tugs him toward the gardens.
The way Astarion speaks of the man who turned him (so far from the love Armand and Louis offer Daniel) makes her think of her father. He must have known. Otto Hightower and the southern alliance must have intended her to marry the king or his brother or their progeny, else they would not have brought a girl-child to court. She did not know it then, but she knows it now.
When she speaks again, her words come slowly, born of much thought. ]
Mayhaps rather than attempting escape, dear husband, we might enjoy our evening? [ What difference does it make, to keep another’s company, when Astarion seems to understand her pain too well. ] I am told there is a zoo, of all things, on the grounds. If you can bear my company — we could see it for ourselves?
no subject
Indeed. [ A lifetime ago. And — ] We make our decisions based on what little information we know. That is all we can do.
[ If Astarion were bleeding out, delirious with pain, then any choice he made was not his own. She squeezes his hand, unsure how else to offer comfort, and tugs him toward the gardens.
The way Astarion speaks of the man who turned him (so far from the love Armand and Louis offer Daniel) makes her think of her father. He must have known. Otto Hightower and the southern alliance must have intended her to marry the king or his brother or their progeny, else they would not have brought a girl-child to court. She did not know it then, but she knows it now.
When she speaks again, her words come slowly, born of much thought. ]
Mayhaps rather than attempting escape, dear husband, we might enjoy our evening? [ What difference does it make, to keep another’s company, when Astarion seems to understand her pain too well. ] I am told there is a zoo, of all things, on the grounds. If you can bear my company — we could see it for ourselves?