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You don’t know how it started
Well you did actually, you could remember every second that led up to your feelings for the duke, it was more that these feelings were incomprehensible to you.
Normally this type of behaviour would annoy you especially on the job but when he’d tease you or make you jump, one of his scarred hands clasping your shoulder as he startled you from behind, your adrenaline spiked…. But not out of fear.
He was calculated calm and always seemed in control, nothing surprised him, like he was constantly reading a timeline of all that would or could happen.
You always felt like you were missing a large part of him no matter how many times you talked to the man
Wriothesley was a distant family friend when you were kids. You were shy at the time, avoiding him like the plague however the boy had attempted to talk to you multiple times.
One year your family had his over. Your parents were discussing diplomatic relations with Wriothesley’s adoptive parents and you were instructed to keep him entertained.
You couldn’t have been old at the time. Maybe ten?
You decided to give him a tour of the woods surrounding your family home, a place you knew like the back of your hand….. at daytime that is.
You had taken him to your treehouse and the two of you were not paying attention to the night drawing in.
you were too immersed in conversation, he was telling you about his bizarre home life and about his many siblings.
As time passed, it was like the forest had shape-shifted in the small amount of time your attention was diverted.
Despite your creeping worry, you decided to navigate out of the forest, through the shadows.
The two of you slid down the treehouse ladder, it was bitingly cold outside the moon providing a mediocre amount of light.
After about half an hour of walking the boy turned to you
“____, are we lost?” He asked piercing eyes looking deep into yours.
“I’m not sure… I think this is the right way” you tried to hide it but, you were scared; the darkness was never something you ever got used to as a child.
The boy must have noticed your frightened demeanour because he held your hand in his.
“It’s okay ____, I’m sure we will find our way.” He says flashing a calm smile at you.
“But it’s late what if there’s hillichurls? Or lawarchurls! Or abyss mages!?” You look around paranoid unintentionally squeezing his hand.
His calm demeanour broke for a semi second only to return, his main priority seemed to be calming you down.
You were panicking, you were lost in a dark, gloomy forest, unaware of how close or far from home you were.
Not to mention the earful you would receive from your parents. Even if they were very forgiving and empathetic people they had their limits.
“If there are any monsters I will protect you.” He says snapping you out of thought.
Despite the fact you two were only young his words reassured you and you nod timidly, hand still in his.
Eventually the two of you came to a clearing in the canopy, waxing crescent prominent in the sky.
The forest seemed silent you could hear your panicked breaths as they came out of your mouth as steam, breaking through the thick, freezing air.
A twig snapped but neither of you had moved.
The forest went silent, cold breeze clawing at your back like someone had stepped on your grave.
You tightened your grip on his hand.
There it was again, rustling in the leaves.
The sound of……. Popping?
Then you heard it.
You couldn’t understand what it said but it’s chant and the sudden appearance of hydro was enough to make you realise what it was.
“Miss ____! Get behind me!” Wriothesley’s cryo vision shone, and his fists clenched.
The hydro abyss mage darted towards you two waving it’s staff.
Wriothesley swings with one arm, cryo coating his reddened knuckles.
You barley registered that the mage had frozen when Wriothesley’s hand slipped back into yours as he dragged you away.
You both stumbled over stray tree roots as you ran and ran.
You didn’t even know if you were going the right direction until you heard the distant shouts of your parents calling for the two of you.
That was the last time you saw him.
It’s not that you two were barred from seeing each other, you weren’t in trouble or anything but you just drifted.
In your teenage years you never felt the need to interact, you both had very different paths.
You were half expecting to never see him again.
But you did.
As you grew, you developed an interest in architecture and design.
You learned to forge weapons, design buildings or structures, you even helped design the aquabuses. You had a successful career.
You spent most of your days designing various commissions in a sweet office in the main city of Fontaine.
Until one day you were sitting in your stuffy round office. The afternoon sunlight resting on your slightly scrunched features. You peered at a particular letter, among all your design enquiries.
The back of the letter wore a wax seal with an unfamiliar insignia that seemed to resemble a wolf but the melting mound of molten wax made it difficult to make out.
It was addressed to you, directly to your office in fact, from the now Duke and as you discovered; the warden of the fortress of meropide asking to see you over some tea.
Despite his vague letter, you went anyways.
You had made the journey to the opera eclipse where one of the prison staff was there to be your tour guide.
You were nervous since you were in your twenties now, the last time you saw him you couldn’t have been older than ten.
Maybe you were curious, but something about the situation made you agree to go almost without thought.
The whirr of the elevator was not what had bothered you on the journey to the fortress.
The lack of oxygen and the stench that came with it was. It didn’t smell bad per se but you were quite accustomed to your fragrant office that the metallic aroma of the prison was something you weren’t used to.
The lift jolted slightly as it came to a stop and you sighed foolishly thinking it was over.
To cut a long story short, you did not enjoy the journey to the dukes office.
You entered per the guides instructions and made your way up the stairs to his office.
“_____, it’s been a while” he certainly had aged well.
He was ruggedly handsome sitting back in his chair, his eyes just as distinct as you remember. You questioned some of his dress choices internally but you couldn’t deny that he was a sight for sore eyes.
You hoped he thought the same of you
“Long time no see Wriothesley, have you been well?” You ask pleasantly.
His gloved hands place his teacup into its saucer as he looks at you intently.
“Good. You seem quite well yourself, I’ve been hearing people sing praises about you and your work for a while now.” He complements, placing his elbows on the table and resting his chin on his hands.
You tried not too look at him too much you could already feel your cheeks heating
The two of you caught up over some tea, chatting idly for a while.
He places his cup down fingers ghosting the rim of the porcelain.
“Now to the business. ____, how knowledgeable are you on the prophecy.” He asked eyes piercing you again as you struggled to meet them.
“The one about Fontaine flooding and the primordial sea?”
“That one”
“Hmm… I have a small workshop on the coast, I started keeping track of the sea level and concentration of primordial seawater.” He looked at you intently
“I only found a minute amount, it was small enough that it was completely harmless, it would probably need to have a hundred times itself to even be slightly harmful but……” you trailed of.
He leaned forward on his desk slightly
“But?” Wriothesley pressed on
“I went diving out of curiosity and I brought a vial for a sample. I tested the water when I returned, it appears there is a not very steep but long concentration gradient. I personally believe the prophecy, im not usually a superstitious person however there is simply too much evidence.” His gaze bore into you as you spoke.
Silence engulfed the room as he almost sized you up. He took a thoughtful sip of tea
“Can I trust you _____?”
✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼
About a year ago he had called you to meet him in his office, he asked you to help him with a project.
He called it the Fortuna, it was to be a large ship for a small society to live on when the prophecy came true. He wanted you to help design it.
The idea to put it simply was so… him. It fit his values perfectly, all are equal in peril so all are welcome, her wanted space for as many people as possible and you were there to aid that vision in whatever way you could.
You had been working alongside him for a while but you started noticing a change in his behaviour.
The first time you were consciously aware of it was when you were doing some work down in your little workstation by the boat on the dock.
On days where you were doing manual labour or a lot of walking you opted to wear something that allowed you more mobility.
It was normally just a blouse and a nice pair of brown leather shorts. They were quite practical but occasionally rode up your legs, it was never really a problem you would just pull them down every so often.
One day Wriothesley had brought some other workers down to the fortuna who were trusted individuals who would help with the building of it.
He had come over to your workshop in the fortunes dock and brought the others so you could show them the plans.
You went to pick them off your desk but dropped them. The thin blue sheet of paper fluttering to the ground.
Instinctively you went to pick it up, bending towards it.
Horror struck at the feeling of your shorts riding up a little too much for your liking.
Once you grabbed the papers you practically shot up, mortified internally.
You gave them the copy of the plans trying not to appear too flushed but your stammered words were betraying you ever so slightly.
As the workers split up around the area you jumped as you felt something soft wrapping around your shoulders and covering most of your back and about halfway down your thighs
It was his coat.
“You seemed a little cold ____.” Wriothesley says smoothly to you going past you to follow the workers leaving his coat on you.
You clamped a hand over your mouth in embarrassment , he definitely saw that.
✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼
Incident two was a little different.
Over your time working with him you two had become quite close. Every day he would make an attempt to drag you from your work insisting that you take a break to have lunch with him and Sigewinne.
You were quite accustomed to being around the two but one thing you never quite got used to was how he treated you compared to the prisoners, especially new inmates.
You tried to not dwell on it too much, it would only make you needlessly anxious.
He talked to you, most of the time, like he did with Sigewinne or any others he was fond of but sometimes he spoke quite intimately with you casually dropping terms of endearment or subtly flirting with you
It was the type of thing you could just put down to him being friendly but it was enough to make you question things. Not to mention his indifferent attitude to everything made his actions cryptic to you.
There were times he’d use you as a chess piece in whatever issue he was dealing with in the fortress this time which you didn’t mind, it’s part of his job but you’d be lying if it didn’t hurt you sometimes. It made you question the sincerity of sweet words that had been spoken to you
One day he came up to you while you were writing something up.
“____, would you be interested in going to a banquet with me, it’s a diplomatic one and I’d rather not go alone, you don’t have to of course but it would be nice to have you there.”
Your pen was gliding over the paper and you were quite immersed in your work so agreed almost without any thought.
“Great.” He drummed his fingers on the desk as he left seemingly more peppy but you didn’t notice too much.
As he walked out of your area your head shot up as you finally processed what you had just agreed to.
That night you had gone out of the fortress to a dress shop and got something appropriate but still a little flashy.
You had rushed back to your room in the prison - a decently sized room with an en suite that most of the long term employees got - and got ready, putting the most effort into your appearance that you had done in a while.
“Why did I do all that…” you muttered to yourself arranging your hair and various accessories.
The time came and you and Wriothesley went to the banquet. It was mostly normal but people kept mistaking you as his fiancé.
This wouldn’t normally bother you, if he corrected them, but he would wait a while before doing so and you would end up doing it.
You couldn’t help but think this is one of the times he was being divisive with you maybe to keep the ladies off his back.
He wasn’t your fiancé or even your partner but the whole dinner, he was acting like it. When an attendee made a flirty comment he didn’t say anything but he didn’t have to; he shot the guest a glare he only saved for those who had done deplorable things
At the end of the banquet, as the two of you left he opened the door for you he commented.
“Thank you for accompanying me _____”
His hand slipped around your waist as he guided you out of the door walking alongside you.
It could have been flirtatious or a simple act of gratitude. His hand sent sparks into you as you struggled to form words, your gaze was drawn to his hands while his icy eyes inspected your face intently.
That night that simple action left you lying awake in your bed, sprawled out as you fiddled with your pillow in thought.
Then there was another thing it was not unpleasant per se but easily the most frustrating, it always left you feeling conflicted and confused on where you two stood.
It was always after a long day, you’d have tea with him somewhere more private and comfortable.
The two of you would talk for hours like there was always more to say.
You knew bits and pieces about his past, you knew he was arrested and you knew his parents had died but you didn’t, however know that it was him until one late night.
He told you his sorrows and regrets and you shared yours.
He spoke so honestly with you.
You had seen many versions of wriothesley, wether it was his playful side or his stern one but seeing him this vulnerable with you was something you were new to.
The way he softly gazed at you as he listened intently to your stories or whatever you were hyper fixating on this time.
You couldn’t help but be mesmerised by his stare only obstructed momentarily by strands of his hair covering one eye as he leaned forward intently.
It gave you butterflies.
Everything made you flustered when it involved him.
The way his slightly calloused and scarred hand slid over yours on the table when he was comforting you. His thumb rhythmically stroking the supple skin on your hand trying to calm you.
After a certain point in time you were certain of your feelings for him.
The heat collecting in your cheeks was indication enough that you were becoming more than childhood friends rekindling their friendship at least on your end.
But his feelings confused you
Wriothesley seemed to treat everyone differently so why did the way he treated you stick out so much?
Maybe it’s the way he’d almost always have an eye on you constantly even if he was using you as part of a plan, though you supposed it wasn’t uncharacteristic for wriothesley not to want to put you in danger.
But he seemed to be observing you constantly.
There were times you would trip or fall and he’d almost appear out of nowhere a strong arm slipping around your waist to catch you.
“Careful” he’d say smiling, putting you back on your feet.
Maybe it’s the way he lost his cool whenever you were harmed.
If a prisoner yelled at you or barged past you they’d receive a stern word from the duke or a dirty look or if someone was consistently rude to you they’d ‘coincidentally’ get the worst meals from the cafe.
While he was investigating the beret society he had told you to stay away from the group, especially dougier. He seemed so paranoid that they would target you despite the fact you were lesser known faculty. Maybe they were targeting you, you wouldn’t of known, chances are wriothesley would of eliminated that danger before you were aware of it.
Now you thought about it every time you went near the beret society he would guide you away with a smooth motion one arm slipping around your shoulder and guiding you to the infirmary to get you to speak with sigewinnie.
✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼
After a certain point in time there came a breaking point. You just couldn’t take it anymore.
You were sitting opposite to him he was drinking some complicated tea that he had ordered from sumeru and he was filling out small documents.
You were working on some room designs for the fortuna and were desperately trying to avoid gawking at him.
You had come to terms with your feelings for him and you could feel them weighing on you.
You streamlined your focus on your plans not noticing the dukes soft gaze tracing your face as you knitted your brow in concentration.
He loved evenings like this.
He would wait until you left the cafeteria at your usual time and ‘accidentally’ bump into you on the way back to your workshop.
He’d invite you to one of the small observation rooms around the fortuna; always the ones he knew you liked.
This particular one was clean and well furnished, a round, handcrafted, mahogany table in the middle of the circular room.
On one wall it had a large window framed by appropriate blue curtains and a perfect view of the breathtaking ,yet unfinished ship.
The two seats at each side of the table were plush and sturdy. The main light source was a dim lamp in the corner and a small desk one in the middle of the table.
It felt almost like a romantic box at the theatre.
He would always place hard to come by snacks on the table- some hard to obtain because they were from the outside like macaroons, some hard to get because wriothesley rarely shared his baguettes.
Even though the ambiance was great, it was the placement of you in this scenery that he adored the most.
If one of the prisoners walked in they might mistake it for a romantic dinner, with the two of you placed opposite each other, food and conversation shared among you two.
The only thing he could ever hate about these nights was how oblivious you were.
He thought he was being outward- because he was.
You were just not getting your hopes up.
No matter how many times he tried to turn these nights into an intimate dinner shared with you, you always managed to become preoccupied.
Sometimes you would get so immersed in what you were doing that you completely went silent.
This was one of those times.
The scratch of your pencil as you jotted down ideas was the only sound filling the room.
“_______?” Wriothesley said breaking the silence finally.
“Yes?” You say, pencil gently put down and gaze finally drawn from your work.
“Is your work in the fortress overbearing? Would you rather be back in the over world?” He asked bluntly.
You thought for a second.
“It’s strange. I felt more lonely in the city. I was surrounded by shallow people and nobles, I had lost touch with most friends but…..” you paused.
“The sense of community down here is comforting. Miss Sigewinne and you are good company” you reply a little more formal than you would have liked.
His elbows rested on the table gaze transfixed on you without even noticing.
He nods
A silence followed.
You felt your cheeks heat slightly.
He hadn’t said anything he was just staring at you.
You noticed how close your hands were on the table.
The only thing you could hear was the rhythmic tick of the grandfather clock in the corner of the room.
The silence drew out for a while yet your brain refused to remain silent.
“____? Are you okay?” He said.
Was he talking and you hadn’t noticed?
“Yes I’m fine.” You say fumbling with the food in your hand.
He had a look in his eye, he almost seemed… defeated?
Were you missing something?
Maybe you were speaking to formally? Maybe you overstepped somewhere? You weren’t sure.
The room got quiet.
You took a deep breath steadying yourself for what you were about to ask him.
“Wriothesley…. What am I to you?”
He stopped chewing on the bread he’d previously been feasting on.
He tugged on his tie uncomfortably.
“You’re a dear friend.” He said seemingly wanting to say something else.
“I wouldn’t want to spoil things between us” he followed up.
What was that supposed to mean?
“Spoil things?” You say getting a shot of courage randomly.
He hesitated, thinking over his words carefully.
“I’m worried that I may have feelings for you”
You freeze slightly. Wriothesley was a calculated man so sure of himself and others, he seemed aware of everyone’s intentions and motives from one look. He is empathetic and strong yet he missed something so painfully obvious. you weren’t not answering his advances because you don’t like him you weren’t answering him because you didn’t believe he was being genuine.
He’s perceived your awkwardness for a rejection.
You were still in a state of shock.
His sighed feigning a relaxed smile despite the fact that internally he felt quite the opposite.
He got up from his chair
“Forget I said anything” he said his voice more unstable. He walked out of the room before you could grab his hand and pull him back into his chair.
The next few days were agonising. Things went back to where they were before you didn’t even know how to bring it up to him.
Your interactions were less common and much shorter, and his advances had stopped completely.
While it was nice to know Wriothesley was respectful of rejection that green flag had quickly become a problem.
How could you show Wriothesley that you reciprocated his feelings without him being around you all the time.
You could make advances of your own but you didn’t know where to start, not to mention he was avoiding you like the plague recently finding a moment with him would be impossible.
At least that’s what you thought.
Maybe the stars aligned, maybe that’s a too positive way of explaining the circumstances that came up to you confessing to him but either way you didn’t have to wait too long for a chance to try again.
✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼
The past few weeks had been peculiar to say the least.
Wriothesley was absent, more so than could be chalked up to him avoiding you.
You found your answer quite quickly, not only was a harbinger missing in imprisonment but the traveler had been arrested.
All the inmates were talking about were the traveler and their companion. You’d heard stories about their travels and adventures. They certainly seemed interesting, at least wriothesley must have thought so since he was talking to them so much.
You were quite aware this had one of Wriothesley’s schemes written all over it, he was never this kind to anyone who was a prisoner.
But even if you knew he had ulterior motives you couldn’t help but feel slightly nauseous as you watched him chat jovially with the admittedly charming and attractive traveler.
“______? Are you okay?” Sigewinnie asked as you sit dejectedly at the cafeteria table with her.
You try to suppress a sigh but fail as it passes your lips unwillingly
“I’m fine Sigewinne, just tired” she looks at you concerned and pushes over one of her concoctions. The gesture is so sincere you don’t even have the heart to reject her.
You spent most of your time for the next two weeks doing finishing touches on the fortuna for hours and hours just to give you a distraction.
The sick feeling rose up again as you looked up to the observation window below his office to see him showing the traveler your creation. He’d never trust anyone that quickly.
You quickly packed up your tools feelings swirling in your gut as you made your way to the boardwalk.
That was until you felt a tremor. You had panicked and gone upstairs from the basement.
Boots clanging on flights of stairs as you pushed upwards.
You spin on your heels turning sharply around corners to reach the scourge of the noise only to find the Iudex and Clorinde leaving along with Wriothesley.
“Just a small leak” the warden said to you flashing you a casual smile.
“Nothing for you to worry about” he says trying to calm you.
It had been about a week since that incident, you were lying in bed feeling gloomy as usual, it had been a couple weeks since you accidentally rejected Wriothesley and his newfound closeness to the traveler was not easing your nerves.
You pushed yourself out of bed going over to your dressing table to get ready.
You had decided to spend a day on the town to help calm yourself, huffing some real fresh air from the surface was bound to do you some good
As you walked towards the exit through the fortress you couldn’t help but notice the lack of… everyone really.
The traveler, Wriothesley, sigewinnie, and other important staff, you felt as if you were being avoided at all angles even if you knew that was silly.
How had the traveller so seamlessly won the hearts of all in the fortress when it had taken you so long?
But nevertheless you paid it no mind as you surfaced out of an alternative exit from the fortress.
You breathed in a large breath of fresh sea air.
You forgot how gorgeous the shore was, the supple sand and the slow tranquil waves were a pleasant sight although a little harsh one considering you hadn’t seen proper sunlight for a while.
Not that it would last long, big gray clouds were crawling across the sky rapidly, perhaps a little to rapidly. Despite the fact that it hadn’t started raining yet you could have sworn the shore was…. Rising.
As it rose dramatically and the rain began to pour your stomach dropped as you realised…
The prophecy
✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼
You paddled aimlessly, slowly feeling your energy be drained from your body as you hoisted yourself onto a piece of driftwood, flopping down on it as you caught your breath.
You look up wearily to see an infinite ocean in front of your eyes.
All of a sudden you felt heavy, your eyes drooping from exhaustion. Your body was weary and battered from the infinite swimming to look for land among the empty vast horizon
You felt your consciousness slip as your head crashed back down on the soggy cold surface of the driftwood, your cheek squished against rubbery moist plywood
You awoke to feel your body leaving the course raft that you had been laying on for the past couple hours, your vision was hazy as you felt yourself be tossed over a muscular shoulder and lifted upwards.
You heard the sound of metal clanging that probably was blaring but your hearing was not quite reliable in your half unconscious state.
You finally felt the lifting feeling stop as your eyelids felt heavy again and you faded from you cognisant state.
.
.
.
The sound of waves seemed to float into your ears, it was muffled but not from your awekening mind, you were inside.
You felt what you assumed were warm comfy sheets around you, as well as this you could feel the slow comforting feeling of someone holding your hand gently and tenderly, thumb running over your knuckles gently.
You were propped up among some pillows in a plush bed with a metal frame, sunlight directed in your sensitive eyes as you pried them open with your mind.
You roll your head over to face whoever was caressing your hand.
Your half lidded eyes travelled up the figures form. A grey waistcoat, a red tie being slightly loosened by a black gloved hand, a lighter grey collar, short stubble and a soft but smirkish smile.
“Morning, how do you feel” his hand slipped up your arm slightly rubbing reassuringly.
You sit up slightly but his free hand cups your shoulder pushing you back down.
“Easy, easy you’re exhausted” his velvety voice warns
You groan slightly as you sink back into the sheets.
“Why aren’t you with the traveler?” You murmur out.
“I believe they are with Monsieur Neuvillette, besides i have more important things to attend to” he comments his usual even tone present.
You knit your brows in confusion “then how come you’re here and not doing those important things” he laughs at that as if you had said something stupid.
His eyes meet yours his hands encasing yours his thumb rubbing the back of your hands.
“I am”
~
-epilogue-
Light peeks through the doors, not the natural kind you get from sunlight, the flickering kind common in the fortress of the large metal gas lamps.
The small crack of light cast a slim beam across the red heavy sheets of the dukes chambers. The small line of light tickles your eye.
You begin to rise but hands on your waist pull you back down.
You feel wriothesley’s shaggy hair tickle your jaw as he nuzzles his face into your neck letting out a murmur of protest.
“We need to get up” you say softly but this only causes his arms to constrict around your middle more. He plants kisses over bites and man made blemishes on your neck, his fingers dig slightly into the silky fabric covering your midriff.
“Five more minutes…” he groans.
“Wrio-“ before you could finish he rolls on top of you trapping you under his weight, the blankets shifting.
“Five. Minutes……please”he whispers into your hair. you tap his back twice signifying defeat.
He adjusts his position instead pulling you into his chest spooning you
“Wrio can i tell you something?” You say groggily. Shifting closer to him listening to his heartbeat.
He hums in interest kissing the nape of your neck delicately - a stark contrast to the roughness in which the mark he’d been kissing had been made the night before.
“Before you told me you loved me i thought you liked the traveller” you say quietly and timidly.
He slips his arms around your waist and hums in amusement. “____, you’re the densest person i know.”