two moons walk into a ruined bar and...

Eularia smiled gently at the burbling child, each color coded with a bracelet around her wrist now that their differences (save for the two identical) were becoming more apparent. Ah, yes. Great resolve, for certain. She finally turned her attention to the man, regarding him with a slight tilt of her head.

Destructive tempers can do great damage, as she had learned. She'd been unable to undo the curse she'd cast in a fit of rage. My daughter has been enraged at me long before this incident. She stated, meeting his gaze.

It is nothing new. No, it was not new, but it unsettled Eularia because her husband had hoped she might guide the girl through the unfortunate inheritance. And yet, even that bothered the dowager. Her husband depended upon her for his steadfast support, and what did she receive in return but worship from a man that would have felled the very palace they lived within if his wife so desired?

She scowled, and cut her gaze from her father; for even adopted, Fiore had been more father than the man that had eventually used her to settle his debts. How do you think I am, Father? She snapped, reaching through the barrier to give a toy to one of the girls.

I stand here in these ruins, where memories have been erased from the very wood that once stood. She trailed her fingers through the toddlers hair, This was where I'd met him. Secured his heart. Fiore knew that. Had watched it all happen. Advised her against toying with a man's heart. But she had been quite certain she could garner more than the boy's death in the Crow's favor.

She withdrew her hand from her child, and shrugged. I dream of happier times, when I ensured he skirted death and remained at my side. An honest answer, though Eularia was not much for lying these days. Once, every word that left her lips had been a lie. But... lately, it was too much effort.