Apricity







"Have humans truly become so obtuse or is it just a trait you alone unfortunately possess?"

It took a long, tense moment for Maverick to be able to even say a word. In his head, it felt like an eternity, parts of him hoping that if he stayed silent long enough, Adelia would turn and walk away from him of her own accord. Those parts wrestled with the others that wanted nothing more than to give in to the seething rage that breathed its toxic fumes beneath the surface, enraged to not only be addressed with such insolence, but to be accused of being hostile.

Intimidating? Oh, yes. But threatening? He would never. He wondered what kind of grotesque perversion she thought he was capable of and the mere idea of her having any such horrendous thoughts about him soured his stomach.

Then there was another, smaller part that was not only standing in utter shock, but wished for the strength to be able to reach out to her and ask, to implore, why she had this ability to speak to the beast within.

The anger won out in the end and once his jaw unhinged, the words did not falter. Where once there was a fire, there now was solid ice, a blazing gaze dying down to sharp glass. "I no longer care what it is you do, Adelia. Your threats are nothing more than wasted breath."

Maverick pushed his hands into his pockets with a scary sort of calm, one that, deep down, concerned him. His face grew dark, his lip lifting into a disgruntled snarl as he drew his spine up straight and tipped his chin as if realizing that the woman standing before him wasn't worth the strife that plagued him.

It was a lie, of course. He wasn't sure when, but somewhere along the line, Adelia had started to mean something to him and to have her address him in such a manner, to have her be so blinded, to have her choose to disregard what so clearly concerned him was a sickening disappointment the likes of which he hasn't felt in decades.

How strange it was to have a woman affect him so.

The king was unaware of the way he breathed. Each inhale was deep, as if filling lungs too big for his chest while every exhale rumbled with a subtle growl. She had done it again. Tapped into something not meant to be interacted with and yet, she continued to play this…game of denial.

He wasn't sure how long he stood regarding her with stoney indignation, but with a quiet scoff of dismissal, he finally turned from her and fixed his feverish eyes on the far end of the hall. That would be his destination and once he reached it, he would pick a new one, just as far, until his legs carried him deep down below the castle.

Maverick would ignore the way the beast looked back at her, the way it wished to stretch out toward her, the way it paced in aggravation at the man's blatant refusal to acknowledge what the beast found enrapturing. It didn't matter Adelia could control it. It didn't matter that Maverick has never witnessed such a thing.

What mattered was that the beast was awake now at a time it had only ever been asleep. What mattered was that, for the first time, Maverick didn't have quite the handle he always had on his curse and, that alone, was frightening.





 




Adelia Fitrei

Her lips parted at his harsh words, eyes staring up in blatant shock at what had just been said. Instantly, any thought she had of them potentially finding a way through the marriage that loomed before them had vanished, and Adelia realised that - or at least personally thought - that there was no way he had any real intention with following through with anything. All the words he spoke that seemed to suggest his willingness to see how things went, the gentle moment they had at the piano and the actually amicable conversation they enjoyed at dinner... it had all been a farce. He never intended to let her in.

All this talk of exchanging secrets, to Adelia, he had clearly expected her to go running for the hills the moment she believed he would push and shove until he got what he wanted. Now she was there, and he had supposedly gone to reveal his own, was the moment he was the one backing out.

Her lips continued to move faintly, but no words escaped her. All too jumbled in her own mind to make any coherent sense if spoken out loud. It wasn't until their standoff was finished, and he was turning away, did she find herself jolting back into reality. As if she had been detached from her body and then suddenly slammed back into it again.

With a disregard for her shoes, Adelia kicked off her heels in order to chase him down, footsteps barely making a noise against the castle flooring. The hand of her good arm reached out, slightly colder due to the ice pack which she had left discarded next to her shoes, to grab his arm.

"Stop." Adelia hadn't meant to, but her command was laced with hints of the control she used on animals once more. Her hand remained on his elbow, but softly slipped down to his wrist to remain loosely clasped there. "Stop running from me."

She quietly stepped around him, partially using her hand to encourage him to turn as she did so, brow furrowing deeply.

"You... you don't get to be this... this prick to me, Maverick. You've-- you've poked and you've prodded and you've demanded to know my secret in return for yours. Yet you refuse to give anything up. You refuse to...to..." She trailed off, not daring to speak of trust when it clearly wasn't even there.

Eyes lowered to where her hand remained at his wrist before hesitantly looking back up, fingers slowly uncurling from around him to retreat back to her side. "I've told you that I can... handle whatever it is that you have going on. I've told you I am committed to whatever is going on. You are the one that keeps running now. Why? Why is that? I... I can relate to how exhausting it is to keep things... a secret." She met his gaze, daring to do so straight on and even look deeper into the apparent danger that lurked beneath the surface.

"So why? Why do you keep running from me? Why do you refuse to let me see?"
 
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Adelia's voice not only cut through the air, but sliced through his very soul. It was a razored thing that split the king wide open and gave her access to every pulley and button that made his body function. She went after his legs, the command a wrenching thing that drew Maverick up short. His consciousness suspended over him for a breath-aching moment, dazed as if suddenly struck by a racing horse that not only stole the air from his lungs, but made his stomach twist into a painful ball that nearly had him doubling over.

It was a moment of bewilderment that stretched into the abyss, Maverick's mind struggling to understand what seized him with such ferocity, but then her voice came again and a sharp blue gaze snapped to the woman who not only had approached, but dared to grab his arm. He hadn't noticed her touch, but now it seared into his flesh.

Stop running from me.

Her voice twirled down within him, the beast inside stretching its neck up to nudge it with its nose as it draped over it like a silken cloak and down further still. The weight of it settled down into his feet and Maverick knew that trying to lift a leg would be like trying to lift a ship's anchor. He hadn't the strength, but more than that, the damned beast seemed completely content to do precisely as asked and now that it was alert and oriented, the man had lost what control he had tried so desperately to hang onto.

Luckily, for both the king and his bride, the beast wasn't interested in food and it would have been a wonder Maverick would have entertained if he wasn't filled with such seething anger. In that moment, it was uncertain just which was more dangerous: the man or the monster that lived inside him.

He took a deep breath, inhaled her as if her scent would reveal to him the mystery that she was and for a moment, a blink of an eye, a flutter of a butterfly's wings, Maverick recognized the smell, but then he found himself looking into the depths of eyes he wasn't accustomed to and what answer he was given suddenly vanished from his mind. Dark eyes tracked her as she stepped around him, his body stiffly complying to the nonverbal request that he face her more directly.

If the king were in his right mind, if anger didn't lace his blood, if he wasn't pouring all his effort into keeping the curse from exploding outward, Maverick may have laughed. He may have chuckled at Adelia's unflattering comparison, perhaps even thought her cute for being bold enough to address him in such a manner, but there was a time when boldness would have been amusing and a time when it clearly wasn't.

This was a time it wasn't and the only saving grace was Adelia's light hold of his wrist. Now that was smart. It acted as a tether to the earth, a reminder that the woman before him was indeed just that--a woman and if he could try and spare a thought, he would acknowledge that she was distressed. That she mattered not just because she was his bride, but because she was a person. It helped, a little, to be able to see her as someone he wanted to respect.

Though Adelia was more than that, wasn't she?

Maverick wasn't sure how long he held her gaze and somewhere in the back of his mind, he approved of her ability to be able to hold it in such a tense moment, but he still wasn't free of the beast, which now wanted, more than anything, to be released if only to just feel Adelia's touch. The king didn't trust it. Not for a moment and with a careful swallow, he pried his jaw open just enough so words could come out.

"If I may remind you, Adelia, I wanted you to come with me so that you may have your answer. You're the one who has been making it difficult."

He meant to say more, explain how it was she who questioned him, asked if he should calm first and think it through, only to threaten to leave anyway.

Yet, he was the one running, according to her.

Women were a curious sort of creature all on their own.

Maverick didn't force himself to say more. Unable to move his feet until...what? She let him go?...he simply stood there, watching her.

...part of him wishing she had never let go of his wrist.





 
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Adelia Fitrei

"That's enough." She retorted at his comment about her being the one making things difficult, "I only asked if you wanted to take time to make sure you wanted to tell me this so-called secret because I don't wish for the revelation of it to be something you regret. You clearly already regret letting me in this castle, so forgive me if I am trying to ensure you don't regret anything else regarding us."

Her eyes remained on his, unaware of the effect she - or at least her words, her commands - had on him. She dared to step forward, reaching up to gently grasp his chin. His skin was warm, almost unnaturally so to a point she worried briefly if he was running a temperature. The slight stubble on his jaw was rough against her finger and thumb, but Adelia found herself enjoying that coarseness, finding her wondering for a few seconds what it would be like to gently scratch at it in a tender way.

"I just... want to know, Maverick. I want to know so I can help, I want to know so I can trick myself into believing you have an element of trust in me. You said so yourself we... we both have secrets. I thought this was going to be the start of revealing all to one another. You tell me yours, and then I'll tell you mine. I'm... I'm willing to do that, so long as we both share and we both... we both trust." Adelia's thumb brushed up the side of his jaw before she could halt the motion, the realisation as to what she had just done causing her to pull her hand away.

However she didn't step back, almost not daring to, but also finding herself not wanting to. Drawn in by the magnetic heat of his body and also whatever it was that lingered under the surface. Something that called to her, something she wanted to learn more about. Something she oddly found herself not afraid of the more she stared it down.

Licking her suddenly dry lips, she entwined her fingers together, clasping them in front of her, "If you want to leave, then leave," she finally spoke again, voice soft and soothing, again the edges of her gift coming into play without her realising, "But don't keep talking to me about secrets if you don't want to divulge them. Don't keep expecting me to tell you all of mine, when you won't tell me one of yours." She reached a hand out again, eyes dropping down to follow the path of it, only this time to straighten the collar of his shirt, allowing the outside of her thumb to lightly brush against the skin of his neck.

Pulling back, and reluctantly stepping back, Adelia took a moment to keep her gaze on the collar of his shirt before raising it back up to meet the darkness of his eyes.

Fighting the pull of both him, and the magnetism of whatever watched her and prowled beneath the surface.

"So, shall we go to your study where we can talk in private, or shall I leave you to your thoughts? I've told you what I think and how I feel, King Torvald. The ball is in your court now."
 
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Maverick's patience was wearing thin. If this moment was a preview of the future, it was looking much too grim for him. With Adelia as his wife, she would essentially be able to force him to do anything and the prospect disgusted him. He didn't like choice to be taken from him.

Hasn't he lost enough already?

...and now he's facing this!?

He gritted his teeth to her words, the tone of them something the beast reacted to instantly. He couldn't walk away and now he couldn't speak. There was a line and she was dangerously close to crossing it. Was she completely oblivious to his distaste or did she simply not care?

Regret, in this moment, was an understatement. He was beginning to wonder if having even met her was a mistake, but he could recognize, even in such an aggravated state, that it was a harsh thought. For whatever reason, the idea struck Adelia rather deeply, but for the life of him, Maverick couldn't understand why. Why would it matter if he regretted anything?

Then again…

She did inform him that she wanted to try and make their relationship work and if this was her attempt at doing so, then maybe he could take note and conduct himself in a calmer fashion. It was a thought that cropped up the very moment she reached up to grip his chin and suddenly, the storm blowing around inside his head came to a dead halt.

The gesture unexpected, he immediately stilled in her hold, her gaze suddenly mesmerizing and holding him prisoner. The beast within tried to press into her touch, but the man wouldn't allow it, reluctant to acknowledge how surprisingly comforting it was. Her words were softer this time, but the beast inside wasn't so interested in what she had to say as it was in the way her thumb grazed up along his cheek. An unexpected shudder curled down his spine and he found himself easing, nearly sighing at the small caress.

It seemed to be a shared moment both were caught off guard by. Adelia immediately withdrew her hand, the self-consciousness a sharpness he saw flare inside her eyes and the comfort, the odd affection. dissolved into one of confusion and disbelief. He regarded her quietly, anger giving way to a fascination the beast was more than happy to support. She continued and if Maverick's anger was still inflamed, it would have spiked again at the perspective she had on what had transpired between them. As it was, that annoyance had simmered down and he was interested to observe that his fingertips itched in desire to reach out and curl fingers around her hand.

He didn't indulge and perhaps it was for the best because, of all things that could have happened in that moment, Adelia reverted back to the use of titles. Having been released from her mental entrapment, Maverick merely nodded. Gesturing with an arm as he had done before, he indicated Adelia should continue to walk with him.

"I'm more than willing to divulge, Miss Fitrei. However, this discussion must occur where I've been trying to lead you." Drawing his shoulders back, he paired his hand with the other behind his back. The anger gone, he stood with the calm he was known for. "If you're uncomfortable and would rather accompany me another time, then by all means." He tilted his head, a twitch of a smile touching his lips. "The ball is now yours."





 
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Adelia Fitrei

A tantric tension seemed to linger between them both, causing the air to become slightly more suffocating for Adelia the longer she held Maverick's gaze. She didn't know what it was, but something about him called to her. Whatever it was that prowled and seemed to be waiting beneath the depths of his eyes. Not that she would ever believe it to be what he was hiding; no, she simply thought it as another side to him, a version of himself that he kept behind closed doors.

Of course that was correct, Adelia just would never, ever expect it to not be... human.

So for now, all she could focus on was the king before her, and try not to think about how his shoulders and his neck and his who being just seemed to relax at her touch. Quiet and seemingly at ease, he was, as a shiver had chased its way down his spine. And Adelia was... happy to have helped him lose whatever stress it was, even if only for a short while.

"I'm not uncomfortable. I just don't want, or need, to be a regret of yours." She answered softly, clasping her hands together in front of her as she held his gaze. No submissive glances away this time, at least not for now. "Let's go, shall we?"

With that, Adelia motioned for him to lead the way, waiting until he finally began to walk again before following.


When they eventually arrived, Adelia's brow furrowed slightly and she glanced slowly up to Maverick, arms moving up to wrap around her upper body, folding to sit against her chest. "What is it you wish to show me then, Maverick?" She inquired, ensuring to mask any nervous ticks or habits as she awaited his response, "I'm intrigued."
 
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