Playing with Fire

Carina was exhausted. And cold. Towards the end of the day, it felt as though she no longer had control over her own powers, her emotions playing too great a role in keeping her ice in check. It had spread from the one side of the bed and the bedside table to crawl up the wall the two pieces of furniture were pushed up against. In some places it looked thin, weak, while in others - where her emotions had become too unbearable to digest - it was thick, one barely able to see the stone underneath.

She, meanwhile, had moved to lay on her side on the floor. An arm was tucked up to rest under her head and the other lay over the bump of her stomach. It was cruel symbol, Carina supposed, that represented all she had left her and how empty she now was.

An untouched tray of food, of what was her dinner, sat at the foot of the bed on the other side nearest the door. Something she was not interested in in the slightest. She had meant what she said to Natalia, the mere thought of eating only added to the persistent nausea currently residing in her stomach. That had been the only thing she had received during the day, with no one coming in to move her items from her shared bedroom with Sven into her new, separate one and no one to check on her. No nanny, no midwife. No Natalia. Not that Carina would ever admit to wanting the adviser to return.

Perhaps she had spoken to Sven and had convinced herself she was a fool for believing Carina, even if what she had heard was the truth. Carina wouldn't blame the other woman, everything was against her, after all.

Carina found herself incapable of rest, hence her exhaustion. Every so often, she heard the cries of a baby and it pained her in ways she had never expected to feel before. Her eyes would snap open and head turn slightly towards the bed, ears straining for another high-pitched sound of displeasure, only for a door to close and the noise to disappear. On the third time of crying, she had dragged herself to her feet to move to the door. She had paused there, hand hovering over the handle before taking it only to find it locked. There had been a brief moment of contemplation, wondering if she ought to just use her powers to get out and see to her son. But Carina knew that couldn't happen. She knew she had to be let out without the means of magic.

So she asked, nicely at first, to be able to see her son. Obviously ignored, she continued to ask until her emotions and desperation began to overwhelm her, mixing in with the motherly instinct of getting to her child at the sound of his distress. At the peak of that dangerous, emotional cocktail, Carina had banged against the door, begging and crying and pleading just to see Lorcan. Her voice had been hoarse by the end, her arms, wrists and fisted hands red from the exertion. She had forced herself back to the other side of the bed, laying down on the floor to face the wall in defeat.

Then there were the thoughts about Sven. These were even harder to take. She couldn't figure out what she wanted more - for him to come and see her so she could try and explain herself and so she could see he was okay, or for him to stay away so she could accept what would happen to her sooner rather than later. She knew to expect disgust, if he did visit her, along with an anger she knew all to well to be justified. However, that didn't prepare her for when he did arrive.

Carina hadn't moved upon hearing the door open, figuring it to be a maid or the guard coming to take away her tray. She kept her eyes closed and body tightly curled in a foetal position with her arm over her bump, until she heard him speak.

Her eyes opened and she lifted her head slightly, her body following soon after as she put her hand underneath herself in order to sit up. Her eyes, already sore and tender from dealing with her emotions throughout the day, started to well up once more with tears that seemed to be never ending. Just as she suspected, all the love and care and affection she had experienced over the last few months was gone. Any emotion he had for her that was once positive was now dead and buried. The hatred he felt for her before their change now back in place.

"T-then why didn't I let you die, Sven?" She whispered after what felt like the longest amount of time as she swallowed passed the lump that had formed in her throat, "I could have waited... waited until I knew you had lost too much blood to be saved but I didn't, did I? And I-I slowed the bleeding, constricted y-your blood cells, stem-stemmed it as best I could."

Carina winced as her body protested to her moving to a kneeling position, unaccustomed to the change and joints stiff from a lack of movement. She faced him, hands pressing hard against her thighs as she forced herself to get a grip on her ice. She wanted to point out that it was a death sentence for her to stay too, but she was doing so willingly, ready to accept whatever he brought down on her head.

"I-I never denied not having anything planned, you know that. I... I withheld the truth about Lauren and Thorin b-because she told me she was leaving with him. I-I wanted to give her a second chance. Just like I had with you. Like you had with Natalia. She had her own reasons... for wanting you dead, Sven. A-And now me too... it seems. S-She would have done this with or without me... I realise that now."
 
Having anticipated protestations of innocence and details from that night that supported such claims rather than the guilt Sven was certain of, nothing the other could say or do would immediately change the man's mind when it was as set as it was. How could it when all evidence pointed towards Carina being guilty and offering her the benefit of the doubt would make him appear weak to those in the castle that knew of her 'guilt'? How could he willingly give her another chance when he had been lied to and (in his eyes) manipulated to such an extent that his life had been on the line and very nearly taken from him when he had been at his most vulnerable?

He couldn't just trust her again even if he did miraculously offer her another chance. That trust was broken the moment a knife had been plunged into him; the moment he realised that she had held back on revealing to him the full truth. Even if it was out of loyalty to Lauren and the genuine belief that the maid was only eager to leave and start up a new life, there was still a lack of honesty that had led to the attack, and that couldn't be overlooked.

And neither could the fact he still believed Carina to be a part of that attack, deceiving him for months on end in anticipation of an attack that would see him dead - and with Lorcan too young to take to the throne, it would be Carina who would hold that power until their son's time came. He couldn't believe that this was all for power when he had never envisioned Carina as the sort to crave glory... but if he believed her to be capable of manipulating him to this extent, who knew what ambitions she held back from him?

He wasn't even sure he knew who she was at this point.

"...The plan clearly went awry the moment Lorcan stirred. Lauren froze, didn't she? Thorin failed to deal me a critical blow. You panicked and you realised your plan wasn't working so you did the next best thing - appear as though you were innocent. The guards witnessed you attempting to save my life, perhaps you thought you could deceive everyone and convince them that you were a loving wife trying to save me-- I don't know, Carina. What I do know is that it was a ploy and I see right through it; you saved me just so you could plot against me in the future; form a plan that wouldn't break down. I don't believe a damn word you say."

He turned his head to the side to avoid looking at her, both because the sight of her made him viscerally furious and because her current positioning, on her knees, felt like manipulation. It made her appear desperate and pleading (which she was) but he refused to see it as sincere; rather, it was an attempt to look a certain way to reel him in and encourage sympathy for her.

And he couldn't fall for it; wouldn't fall for it.

"You made the decision to offer her a second chance without consulting me first. She plotted against me; I'm the one to offer her that chance. You don't decide that for me. Although, I don't believe you offered her anything; that's complete bullshit because you worked at her side to concoct this whole thing. There was no second chance because you were at her side, waiting to... to spring the attack. That's the truth; stop lying to me," he suddenly snapped, the abrupt raise of pitch and altered posture (he had leaned forward in his anger) causing him to grimace and hold his abdomen as if that would ease the spike of pain.

"...You will not receive a trial, Carina. I'm not handing this case over to judges in the courts when that system of 'fairness' was-- a complete mistake. Everything I planned with you was a mistake. A fairer kingdom? I-- I refuse to believe anything you planned with me was for the good of Ignis when you were deceiving me this entire time. All those plans, all those... ideas for a just future. I was a fool for believing them," he snorted as he held his head momentarily in his hands, his breathing slow and calm in spite of his harsh, passionate words.

"I will, however, wait until I've heard what Lauren has to say before deciding on your punishment. She's heading to the gallows regardless but I suppose I had better hear her out. Natalia seems convinced of your innocence is this attack and... she made the point that Lauren could bring forward new details, assuming we find her. I'll prolong this a week and if we don't find her after that, then... there's nothing I can do; you'll hang, Carina. Or burn. I'm not sure which method your crime is more deserving of right now."
 
A weakness filled Carina's body at his final words, her lips parting as the lower began to tremble. In that sickening moment of acceptance, Carina slipped from the kneeling position to sit on her side, a hand pressed to the floor to keep herself upright. The knuckles showed white with the unnecessary force with which her palm was bear down upon. Her eyes, open and unable to disguise the plethora of hurt and pain and misery, flickered across the floor at his feet, no longer able to look directly at him. Her other arm wrapped around her hollow bump for a moment before her fingers raised to press against her lips instead.

The tears were obvious, not even needing her to blink before they were shed to roll down pale cheeks. Deep down, she had hoped against hope that he would have believed her. That any lingering love, his talk with Natalia, and anything she might have done in the past may have been enough to convince him that she truly had no part in this second plot to take his life. A plot that included her too.

But evidently not. That slither of hope had finally died, and all remaining optimism, feebly encouraged by the conversation with Natalia had frozen and shattered within her.

She could, potentially, cling to the new hope that Lauren would be found. She ought to hate her former maid for lying to her, for betraying her, for wanting to murder her. While there was a part of her that did, Carina also couldn't help but feel selfish for that want. She saw some of herself in Lauren. The other woman had also lost everything, and wanted someone to pay for it. They had both been hurt and wanted to see that pain inflicted upon the people that caused it.

However, Carina had pulled herself out of that deep pit of rage and revenge, ironically through the love of the very same person they planned to kill. Lauren could not, it seemed.

"You... you were not.... you were not a fool." She eventually replied, voice strained and her fingers left her lips to wrap around her stomach again. She moved from her collapsed position to sit with her back pressed against the small, inverted corner that the frozen bedside table made with the crystalised bed frame, her knees brought to her chest as best as possible considering the empty bump that still remained.

"You know deep down...that... you know deep down that doing those things for Ignis was right. Just l-look at how much the people adore you. That's not... that's not through tyranny and fear. That's through... that's through everything you have done to change... things." Carina couldn't dare focus on what he had said about her heading to the gallows. Clearly, his mind was made up. She wouldn't dare argue with him or fight for her innocence. Besides, what would a trial achieve? They would see exactly what everyone else currently saw.

A traitorous, murderous, disloyal, deceitful bitch of Eira.

At least the tears had stopped for now, but the salt still stained her cheeks, drying them and continuing to make her face and eyes sore. "I... I offered her a second chance just as you did with Natalia. Because she... because she was my friend. I can't deny that. I was lonely and had no one after... had no one after what happened to Emmett. She was kind to me, understanding... she helped me keep going in times where I was at my lowest." She exhaled heavily, a hand reaching up to sweep back hair from her face with the heel of her palm, dragging it across the side of her head, "I cut her off because I... because she couldn't accept how things were... changing. How emotions... how emotions were changing."

Eventually she looked up at him, head turned slightly away to avoid looking at him straight on, "I can't say anymore to you," she murmured, voice shaking and hurt despite her best efforts, "Because it will... it will only make you more angry and I... I shan't risk you popping your stitches. I don't want that... I didn't want any of this to happen." Her gaze dropped and moved to focus on her feet with a small frown, "But you think I'm lying so... so... I have nothing to say that won't... make you mad and make you hurt yourself."
 
"Why don't you stop telling me what I think and what I feel? It's a blatant attempt to manipulate me and I'm not falling for it - just like I'm no longer going to fall for your pathetic attempts to get control of my kingdom by advocating for a fairer land. I thought it was a good idea until I realised it was merely your way of getting your hands on a substantial amount of power; having a say in the running of my kingdom. I commend you for trying, especially when I fell for it, but I won't be following such venomous advice again. I'll decide how to run Ignis, whether that's through tyranny or otherwise. It is my decision; I'm no longer letting you worm your way into my affairs to... to backstab me later on and take it all for yourself. I've worked you out, Carina." Sven remarked confidently, the lack of emotion in his voice, a clear lack of uncertainty or doubt, indicative of just how strongly he believed in each and every word that left his mouth.

He wasn't even sure he believed that Lauren could throw any light on the events that would spare Carina from the gallows when he was certain the maid would only corroborate the version he thought to be true - the version where they had worked together right up until the early hours of the morning and planned to work together in the running of Ignis after Sven's demise. He had no concerns about Lauren saying anything contrary and it was only because Natalia seemed so determined to wait for the maid's side of the story that he was willing to give it a week before formally passing judgement.

Hell, he wasn't even letting the story out to his people. They knew their King had been harmed, with Thorin and Lauren named the culprits of the plot against his life, but nobody besides those in the castle knew of Carina's 'guilt'. He could let such details leak and let chaos explode amongst the people... but again, Natalia had been eager to prevent it happening. If Carina was innocent of the attack, it was unfair to have her name unjustly dragged through the mud and until Lauren confirmed or absolved her of that guilt, it was only right to spare her the kingdom's ferocity.

He didn't have to offer her that kindness - he could throw her to the wolves if he chose to do so. But he didn't; he was willing to wait a week for Lauren to be found before handing out any punishment.

Besides, separating Carina from Lorcan seemed a worthy enough punishment in the meantime.

"Of course I think you're lying, it'd be absurd to think otherwise. You cannot sit there and tell me you wouldn't think I was guilty if the situations were reversed? If I had come to you days before admitting I planned to kill you, then proclaimed innocence when an actual attack against your life played out? I am not a fucking fool, Carina, do not dare to paint me out as one. I would love to believe you and... and take you back to our bedroom, cuddle beneath the covers with Lorcan. It just isn't possible and never will be because of your deceit and dishonesty. You ruined us; not me. Don't forget that."
 
Arguing against his beliefs and his words was something that she wanted to do so badly. She wanted to fight against the worst of what he thought and prove that she had nothing to do with the second plot on his life. On their lives, actually, after all. There had been two people with two knives standing over them separately. Yet she hadn't had the chance to reflect on how her former dearest friend had willingly stood over her with a weapon, not with her relationship laying in tatters because it was believed she had been involved in it.

"I wouldn't be questioning making my kingdom a fairer place because of what I thought you might have done, however." She murmured, sniffing softly and shaking her head, "Taking your anger out on the people and the surrounding territories because of a personal betrayal... that... that isn't who you are anymore, Sven."

Her gaze lifted to him, muscles tightening as she feared the repercussions her words would have. Instantly, her legs drew in closer to her body and her eyes darted down to the floor again, shifting and fidgeting in place.

"Please... stop." Carina asked quietly, bowing her head until her forehead pressed against her knees. A crackling sounded as ice seeped from the wall and onto the ceiling, crawling slowly above her head. Each word he spoke about wanting to believe her, painting the image of all being well again, as if it were all some bad dream, causing her control to slip.

Her hands raised to her head, fingers tangling into her hair, strands pulling painfully in places. The temperature of the room seemed to drop a few degrees and his words, with the truth ringing through them, started to become too much for her. The fear of what he would do to her for doing exactly what he had just told her not to do, the anxiety of what would happen in the next week, and the pain of knowing he was right and that she had ruined them, swirling within her.

As she had said, she held her tongue and refused to say anything else that would only enhance his disgust towards her, not daring to speak again. She only hoped he would finish what he wanted to say and leave, no longer having the strength to face the hatred before her.
 
The abrupt drop in temperature combined with the cracking of ice as it crawled the walls would make any one anxious - and even with the powers he held, abilities that could efficiently combat the growing sheen of ice across the bedroom's surfaces, Sven wouldn't deny the nervousness that hit him as he warily took in the continued expulsion of ice.

It was hard not to fear what Carina could do when he had seen with his own eyes how efficient her abilities could be in taken someone down. Even if he had fire within his veins that theoretically overpowered ice, he wasn't naive enough to assume he harboured some sense of superiority over Carina; not when her powers were just as dangerous as his own. Hers were more clinical, more direct; she could probably kill him before the flames within him had a chance to reach the surface - it hardly mattered if fire could melt ice when the latter was perhaps even more lethal than the former.

He didn't think Carina would seek to kill him, but she was clearly in an emotional state - and Sven knew better than anyone how uncontrollable powers could become as a result. He had set entire rooms on fire as a child during tantrums because he lost control of himself, and though fire was more difficult to control in the first place, Carina evidently had difficulty controlling her ice right now if the state of the room was anything to go by.

It wasn't out of the realms of possibility that she could inadvertently let loose shards of ice and deal him irreparable damage if he continued to hammer in his disgust of her - and when he was already injured, he wouldn't be able to sufficiently defend himself.

"...If you use your powers, I'll bring forward your punishment regardless if Lauren is found or not - I recommend you gain some control of yourself. I don't want to use your bracelet on you, so control yourself; this is pathetic," he grimaced as he carefully eased himself up from the armchair, taking his time to ensure he didn't rip his stitches despite how weak he assumed it made him look - and when he thought Carina wanted him dead, he hardly wanted to appear vulnerable in front of her.

"Lorcan is to go nowhere near you so stop shouting for him whenever he cries; you're just disturbing him more," he continued swiftly, aware that the words wouldn't help calm her but he also didn't want to leave without setting things straight - he didn't want Lorcan anywhere near someone he thought had been part of a plot to kill him. Even if Carina evidently loved her son, Sven couldn't, in good faith, let the one thing he had left be tainted by being in the arms of someone he now despised.

"He's perfectly fine without you. He'll have his feeds and I'll look after him. Until I determine your innocence in the attack, you can't see him, I don't think that's unfair. So stop crying for him, I'll have you put in the dungeons if you continue and I'd rather not do that so... control yourself. Eat your meals, take your baths, try and get through the week without making me hate you more than I do, Carina."
 
Regaining control over her powers was a lot easier said than done, and Carina almost wished she could beg him for her bracelet back. However, as she lingered over his words, she wondered why he wasn't forcing it on her wrist, let alone handing it back to her. She couldn't understand why, if he thought she truly wanted to kill her, he didn't put the power diminishing piece around her wrist to keep her vulnerable again. If she was truly guilty, and knew death would be coming for her at the end of the week, could he not see that any guilty party would rather risk death upon escaping rather than sit and wait for their verdict?

However, Carina kept her mouth shut, face scrunching up against his words as she focused on her breathing in an attempt to retract some of the ice that had settled over parts of the room. She didn't even look up at him, thus missing the slow leaving of his chair and the grimace on his face. She didn't miss the choice of wording, though. It had been such a while since he had last used such language towards her. She was unaccustomed to it, after the past few months of nothing but love and affection, and thus it hurt all the more.

At the mention of Lorcan, her head snapped up. In unison to her movement, all the ice that glistened on the wall became opaque white, cracks now forming within the deepening layers. "Y-you can't keep... you can't keep him from me. He-- He is my son, Sven. He's only... he's only just been born. He needs me. You can't just... you can't just do this..."

Body painfully stiff from residing in only a few hunched positions since being locked within her former room, Carina struggled to push herself to her feet. Her eyes, wide and hurt, latched onto him, begging him. She knew to expect such a consequence, but it didn't make things any easier. It was such an important time to be with Lorcan, to build that bond with him, to nurse him herself, to sing him to sleep like she had done while she was still pregnant. Not to mention, all the changes within her body, mainly due to the breastfeeding. How, even after only a day without feeding their son, it was beginning to become painful.

"He is not fine without me. I am his mother! You can't-- he's my-- Sven, please." She took a step forward to be at the foot of the bed, standing and facing him despite the slight tremors to her legs. "If you're so determined to kill me for this... one week... please. Just let me have one week with my child. You-- you have the whole rest of his life to make him hate me. Please-- I'm begging you."
 
He perhaps should have anticipated an averse reaction to his words regarding their son and the decision to separate the two, but the intensity of her refusal to accept such a fate did surprise him, even if it really ought not to. He had seen throughout her pregnancy -and the short time she had spent with Lorcan after his birth- just how protective she was of the boy, how much she adored him. He didn't have much experience of seeing a mother harbour that innate love for their child when his own had been nothing short of monstrous towards him, but he didn't need to have that when Carina's love for her son was obvious and completely sincere.

Her reaction still stunned him, however; the furious refusal to accept the decision only emphasised the love she held for Lorcan... but he couldn't just agree to give her what was now a luxury. She was ultimately a prisoner, already receiving great privileges in her containment to a comfortable bedroom in the castle rather than the dungeons or a cell in the prison that had been established in the kingdom over the last few months. Why should she be given more privileges when she wasn't even entitled to one?

He didn't want to be the bad guy so the guilt he felt eating away at him at the sight of tears in her eyes and the desperate pleas for him to relent wasn't easy to cope with... or it wouldn't be if he didn't come to the realisation that he wasn't the one in the wrong. He wasn't the one to manipulate her into loving him, making her feel secure and safe in his presence, promising her a fair future in a kingdom he helped her to create... before backstabbing her in the cruellest of ways. He believed she was guilty of all of that, of trying to kill him when he loved her more than he had ever loved anyone else, so the idea of just putting that aside and allowing her to spend even a second with his son was laughable.

That disbelief grew into a smile as he derisively shook his head at her naivety, his shoulders pushing back (with some effort given the injury to his arm) to maintain that composed posture; one of superiority he had always been fond of months ago. The improvements he had made to himself over the months wouldn't just disappear in the blink of an eye (they were sincere efforts to better himself; not a facade that could disappear in seconds) but aspects of that person he had once been were inevitably going to reappear now he felt betrayed by someone he thought he could trust; the person who had supported him changing his ways.

How could he continue changing his ways when he now doubted Carina's intentions for helping him do so? Maybe she was helping him because it made him appear weaker and thereby easier to take by surprise and kill? It was those doubts that primarily encouraged him to tap back into the person he had once been; the person he thought she had been trying to change for her own manipulative, deceitful reasons.

"You want to see our son? To hold him? Comfort him? Nurse him? I... of course I understand that, Carina. I do. Any loving mother cannot bear to be parted from their children against their own will, I completely understand your pain," he sighed quietly as though on the verge of relenting and giving in to her pleas, his expression almost sympathetic as he locked eyes with her - only for his features to harden and the smile to disappear eerily quickly.

"Maybe you should have thought about our dear son before you tried to kill me. You wanted to take my life; take me from my son for the rest of his life. You aren't deserving of my sympathy. Actions have consequences, my dear. You have to live with yours; you won't be seeing my son this week and depending on what Lauren has to say, maybe not for the rest of your short life either. Now, I have to get going; it's freezing in here, it's making my bones ache," he casually dismissed with a faint glance around the room, frowning in annoyance at the sight of the bedroom's walls coated by ice, with even Ignisi's humidity and heat failing to met it.

"...I'll repeat what I said. Lorcan is fine without you this week. Stop insisting on luxuries you, as a prisoner, aren't deserving of; you aren't special."
 
"But I-- I never... I never wanted that. You just... you just won't accept that. I told you the truth about what I wanted... I never lied about myself. Ever since... ever since I took care of you that night you got pissed, Sven, I had... I have loved you and never wanted to cause you harm. I-- I don't know... I don't know what I can do... to make you see that."

It felt difficult to breathe, ever since it had been utterly and undeniably confirmed by Sven all that would happen. No visitations to Lorcan, locked away for her last remaining days, and death by hanging or burning. Her chest had tightened, and further cracks appeared within the ice on the walls and ceiling. It was worse than when they hated each other. At least then she hated him as much as he hated her, and she knew from the beginning her child would be taken from her. On this occasion, she had had a future dangled in front of her, so tantalisingly close, she was living it, at one point. Only to be ruined because of two fools with knives. And her... for believing one of them.

Her eyes averted from his, lacking in strength to hold it any longer. Her arms raised to wrap around herself despite being incapable of feeling the cold in which he spoke. With it coming from her, it didn't effect her in the ways it would him, but just this once she wished it did. She wanted the freezing temperatures to numb body and mind, for it to bite at her skin to give her a different kind of pain to focus on.

Carina sank to sit on the foot of the bed, side onto him now, staring down at her hands which rested against her knees. Another two tears dripped down her cheeks as she perched there, listening to his final, scathing remarks.

"Then why am. I. Here? Hm? If... If you've truly made up your mind about me... as it seems as though you have... why keep me in this room? You could... you could so easily follow Natalia's suggestion of waiting for... for Lauren, but all the while keep me in the dungeon." Her lips pursed into a bitter smile as she nodded, "If I am... if I am what you say I am... lock me down there, if I truly am as guilty as you... you so clearly want me to be... I should be behind bars in the lead up to your decision, should I not?"
 
"I'm not subjecting you to the dungeons because I'm not a... a bad person. I might doubt the changes I've made the last few months but I'm... I refuse to believe I'm a bad person. And I'm also incapable of hating you as much as I would like to. I want to watch you rot in those cells; turn my back on you as you find yourself traumatised with reminders of your last visit to those dungeons but I can't. I can't just switch off the love I had for you, it doesn't work like that. Granted, the more you whine, the easier it gets, but I... I can't pretend that seeing you like this makes me happy because it doesn't," he finally replied after a moment's hesitation and thought, the King having paused by the door in order to consider her words and find his own in response.

The last thing he wanted to do was show that vulnerability once more, particularly of the emotional sort when he knew from his own experience that an emotional subject was easier to manipulate. He was concerned about that occurring now, seeing Carina as the greatest manipulator he had met in his life, but he also wasn't keen on dishonesty. That was the one change in his life he was eager to uphold, even if Carina had been the one to help him with it all those months.

Even if it meant being open and honest with feelings he would much rather not feel. It would all be easier if he didn't care for her as much as he did; if he could turn the tap of emotions off and regard Carina as though she was just another criminal deserving of punishment. The fact was, however, that she wasn't that; she was his wife, the mother of his child, his best friend and the person he loved.

He couldn't treat her like some random citizen he had no emotional ties to, regardless of the crime he believed she was guilty of.

"If... if keeping you here in relative comfort helps me sleep a little easier at night, then I'll keep it that way. Even if I'm confident of your guilt, even if I'm sure you manipulated me and lied to me, I... I wouldn't be a good father to Lorcan if I had you in the dungeons; it'd rack me with guilt. Which is why I'm willing to hear what Lauren has to say. Should she absolve you of the crime that took place against me, then... we can't go back to normal, not when you still lied to me about Lauren and Thorin being involved in the initial plan, but we can at least... sort something out. But that's a matter for later on, I refuse to acknowledge it right now."

Having had his back turned on the woman for the best part of three or four minutes, with his hand resting on the doorknob during that time, he finally opted to turn back and glance down at her. As guilty as he thought she was (guilt he assumed Lauren would only confound once she was brought in), he couldn't take in the sight of her pitifully sat at the foot of the bed with any pleasure. She had helped him when he was at his lowest and if he was wrong and she didn't have ulterior motives for it, then he felt inclined to help her now.

There was a chance he was wrong about her being involved in the latest plot, after all. She had lied to him, deceived him (despite her having good intentions for doing so), but she might not be the venomous backstabber he had her painted out to be. He didn't want to doubt himself or feel impacted by manipulative tactics but the fact he had paused and glanced back at her was enough proof that some doubts were emerging.

"...If Lauren does shed light on this situation and proves your innocence, I... this was just something I had to do, Carina. I couldn't assume your innocence when everything pointed towards your guilt. You do understand that I had no choice other than this, don't you? If I were my father, you'd have been dead by now. I'm trying to be as fair as I can to someone whose innocence hasn't been proven to me sufficiently just yet. I can't... do more for you than I am, even if... most people in my position wouldn't bother."
 
Carina's head rolled back at his words, finding hypocrisy laced within them as she stared up at the crystal-glittered ceiling. The humour she felt at what was being said did not show on her face, as her bare feet came to rest on the cold wood of the bedframe. Another tear slipped out from the corner of her eye, tracking downwards towards her ear. Her lips pursed to push out a shuddering exhale, still continuing to get a firm, controlling grasp on her powers.

"You won't throw me in the dungeons because you want to be a good father to Lorcan. Yet you won't let him be fed by his own mother... and you'll allow him to learn how his father executed his mother with his own flames." She whispered, eyes closing at the mere thought. Her head was brought forward so she faced the wall opposite her. "And... and you're only willing to hear what Lauren has to say if she is found within the week... or should I say the next six days..."

With heaviness to her limbs she had not before experienced, Carina pulled herself from the foot of the bed and moved around to sit back at the furthest side. She sat with her back against the side of the bed, head leaning back to rest against the edge of the mattress, which was now hard from the ice that had formed on and within it. She didn't want to listen to his words, not after he had spoke so harshly to her a moment before. With that fake sympathy and then hardened smile.

"You should go... you should go and make sure you haven't burst any of your stitches," she finally breathed, "And... and get some dinner. Red meats... for iron... and... just water. Alcohol will... alcohol will only make you light-headed right now." She sniffed, bowing her head to look at her hands, "I-- I told Natalia about Lorcan's gloves, to make sure he... to make sure he doesn't scratch himself. I'm sure she would have checked but the nanny... the nanny might not know. Don't forget to... don't forget to burp him, once he's been fed."

She didn't dare focus on his last little speech, about trying to be fair and having to do this to her. It was sympathetic, showed promise that he had his doubts. But Carina couldn't allow herself to think for one moment he seriously doubted anything. He was returning to his old ways, she was aware of that now. That could have just been the beginning of his old manipulative habits. Even if he did still love her, he had been hurt... and she had seen how awful he could be when he was hurt.
 
"You aren't his sole parent; I'm well aware of his gloves, you aren't the only one who has cared for him since his birth. Your insistence that he needs you, as though you're parentally superior to me, is grating. He'll wear his gloves, I'm not oblivious to his needs," he retorted hurriedly, the brief moment of doubt and the sympathy it brought vanishing once inevitable annoyance at her stuttered words kicked back in.

He was teetering between the two drastically different emotions regarding Carina, at one moment feeling confident in her being the enemy within his halls and therefore responding to her with anger stemming from a deep place of hurt... but the next, he would look at her and just see his wife, broken and as hurt as he was. He wasn't sure how to combat the altering moods when they both seemed to exist concurrently within him, feeling both surges of disgust and sympathy swarming around him all at once.

It confused and hurt him in equal measure, and it would only get worse the longer he lingered in the bedroom and around Carina - even if he felt both a longing to be beside her just as much as he felt a desire to part.

"I've informed a maid to bring you some clothes for the week. Plain dresses; I didn't think it appropriate for you to wear anything worthy of a status you may not own after this week, so... don't put up a fuss about the lack of grandeur. You're lucky you get this bedroom for a makeshift cell, others who set out to harm me wouldn't be given this. Do stop ruining it with your ice, too. It's... out of order and entirely disrespectful. Though when you lied to my face after I asked for honesty, I suppose you aren't sure what respect means," he continued, not sharply but nor cheerily; a monotonous drawl that was probably the best he could hope to achieve when every piece of his mind was currently overrun with conflicting emotions he couldn't comprehend without his chest aching and tears pricking his eyes.

Appearing deadpan and sounding monotoned was far better than the emotional breakdown he was verging ever closer to.

"I can't return the bracelet to you, I destroyed it the moment we embarked on this new future together," he uttered matter-of-factly; a decision he obviously regretted now but at the time, he didn't think he needed such a garment when he had promised to trust Carina and move on from their fraught past. It was a naivety he now cursed himself for.

"And I don't know how to make another so-- either control yourself or there'll be consequences and I like to think you've had enough of those by now." Sven concluded as he finally turned the doorknob and opened the door with a brief, thankful nod to the guard who immediately moved to hold it open for him. "...Breakfast will arrive at 8 tomorrow. You'll eat what you're given, Carina. I won't have you starve before justice is achieved."
 
"You're the one who fussed about the grandeur, remember, when you forced me to wear more red and jewels?" Carina mumbled tiredly, finally pressing her head back into her hands and resting them on her knees which were once more drawn to her chest. She would have much preferred to have been in the dungeons, at this rate. Not just because of her own desire for self-punishment, but also because then it would at least match his words and tone of voice.

His biting, unhelpful remarks just continued to make Carina want out of the bedroom even more. She didn't want to be in a position where she felt 'grateful' for his giving her the bedroom as her cell. Everything else had either been taken from her or was on the verge of being taken from her, and she wanted a space that reflected that. She knew she didn't deserve the space he had allowed her, and with each piercing comment, Carina felt that more and more.

Even though she knew she wasn't guilty of this second plot to kill him (since she had been in control of the first), she was beginning to wish she was. At least then his disgust towards her would be justified. Perhaps he would still hate her for being dishonest anyway, but at least she could walk away knowing that he knew she never wanted him dead; that while she did hide those who did want him dead, she really did love him and never manipulated him.

"Six days isn't enough for me to starve to death before any justice is served." She muttered, although under her breath, not wanting to prolong his visit any further. Not when it would just be more comments about her apparent manipulation, Lorcan's lack of need for her and lack of love for Sven himself.

She could deal with being called disrespectful, she would handle her powers being insulted. But for him to question her true emotions, when it had been so difficult to open up to him in the first place... it was enough to put her off being emotionally honest again for a long time.
 
"Hang on, that wasn't necessarily about grandeur; that was to ensure you were covered in the colours of Ignisi and looked the part. I despised you back then, seeing you wear jewellery my mother wore was... amusing. That was my main motivation, don't misconstrue my actions and assume I acted one way when the truth is quite opposite--" He began dismissively with a roll of his eyes, finding that the continued retorts did little other than irk him more and that ought to be all the motivation he needed to leave the room; return to his bedroom and get the rest his body -and now his mind- desperately required.

Yet he paused once more before he could step outside the room, a hesitation the guard holding open the door found disconcerting. After all, Carina was technically a prisoner within the castle and accused of an unthinkable crime - her quick responses that clearly got under Sven's skin might not have a great outcome for her if he did lose control of his temper

But that wasn't the reason for his pause. Rather, he heard his own words and as much as he wanted to ignore it, he couldn't deny the hypocrisy in expecting her to believe his actions without misconstruing the truth to fit her narrative when he was doing exactly that. He knew he had a reason to doubt her innocence when everything fell together far too conveniently for it to simply be a horrible coincidence, but that didn't prevent his own hypocrisy and the fact he was holding her to a standard he expected to be exempt from.

As angry and hurt as he was, the latter existing both physically and emotionally, he couldn't defend his hypocrisy; he didn't want to be the sort of person who had one rule for himself and another for someone else, even if that person was someone who might have tried to kill him. Even as certain as he was about reverting some of the changes he had made around the kingdom (even if Carina was found to be innocent in the attack, she had still lied to his face and he couldn't be certain that she had been truthful about everything else), he wasn't about to allow himself to be someone who turned a blind eye to his own faults: he could bring back some aspects of the past Ignisi, like the King adopting a more authoritative stance, without being a tyrant oblivious to his flaws.

And if his hypocrisy was currently a flaw, he wanted to correct it however he could.

"...I want to believe you, you know. You can roll your eyes at me or hold a grudge against me for doing nothing but my job, but it's true; I'd love to believe you. The fact you aren't dead right now is proof of that. I might be harsh on you but you did lie to me, that much is fact, isn't it? That's indisputably true. You lied to my face, so... even if I believed you to be innocent of the attack against me, you'd still be receiving a punishment for lying to me. I... I want to make it clear. I haven't thrown you into this room awaiting a sentence for no reason. You still lied to me," he mumbled for emphasis, just to ensure that didn't go unnoticed. It was one reason he had to be angry at her that couldn't be disputed; it couldn't be argued against in an appeal for sympathy.

She had lied and in one way or another, it had led to the events that left him stabbed and bleeding.

"...Get some rest, you look a mess. It isn't easy for me to see you like this. I want to-- to just forget about all of this and bring you back to our room, hold you a-and... and comfort you, but I can't. You might be innocent of the crime but I can't trust you and-- and I'm sure you understand that. So please just get some rest, you... need it," the King concluded once more, this time making a swift exit following the words. He wanted to find an excuse to stay and keep an eye on the other, even in amongst all of his anger, but there was only so much that could be said when she was emotionally vacant and he was the opposite, struggling to cope with the plethora of emotions battling away within him.
 
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Even if she had the strength to argue back to him, Carina found herself looking over the top of the bed only to be in time to see the door closing on Sven's back. Her body shook, overcome with small, tiny shivers and her eyes closed at the sound of the key turning the lock. Swivelling back around, she sat there for a moment before abruptly and sharply twisting towards the pillow at the top of the bed to throw it at the wall in a sweeping motion. Frozen, and now rock hard, the pillow slammed into the wall, chipping away in places, as Carina shoved her head into her hands.

She wanted to scream. All the emotions that were building up that she was fighting, and failing, to bottle up were threatening to overwhelm her all over again now he was gone. She could understand the necessity of punishment for her lies and his unwillingness to trust her again, regardless of how much it pained her. And she detested that he thought her as being incapable of understanding, that he thought she would hold a grudge against him for that. What was hurting her the most was him doubting her emotions.

Opening up to him about how things had been for her and Emmett in Eira with her father had been difficult. Confessing her love for him had been difficult. Acknowledging she loved the person who was supposed to be her enemy and who was responsible for her brother's murder was... beyond anything she had imagined.

Yet she did and now he stood there, doubting. Accusing her of deceiving and manipulating and never having loved him in the first place. That she sought power and control. That everything she did was for herself.

Carina bit hard on her lower lip as she swallowed back the cries of anguish and wordless screams of self-hatred, only to suck in a harsh breath and lift her head, hand following suit to press fingertips to her lower lip where blood welled. Her tongue poked out to begin stemming the bleeding, and her hands moved to her hair to tangle within it again.

He knew for certain that she had lied, and there would be no denying that. Carina would never deny what was true. But he was seriously considering the idea that she would willingly murder him. He truly doubted her love for him that much that he thought she would allow a knife to be plunged into him for her behalf. In reality, if she could have been in the place of that knife, she would have happily have taken the blows he received and more if she had known what had been bound their way.

It felt like a form of betrayal for her, even when she had no right to feel anything but guilt. His questioning, his wondering, his doubting, was plenty enough to leave her questioning if she ought to ever show her emotions again. The lid had slowly been creeping open on them, but now... now Carina could feel the lid slamming back shut.
 
If he thought he would be able to emotionally handle the talk with Carina, Sven realised just how naive he had been to ever harbour such a thought when he returned to his bedroom for the night, in far a worse emotional state than he had been before it. How could he not be emotionally wrecked by what he had discussed when the state his wife was in was an image that stuck to his mind - and sleep wasn't a respite from it when the image proceeded to haunt him in his nightmares.

He knew he was doing all he could to spare her, at least regarding physical consequences of her crime. She wasn't forced to the dungeon nor the prison, and she was brought food that wouldn't look out of place on the King's plate, even if she refused to take even a morsel of it. Even beyond that, he was offering her more kindness he felt she was deserved. There had been moments where he knew he had insulted her sharply, probably reminiscent of the times before they fell in love with one another, but he hadn't gone overboard and uttered anything so cruel that couldn't be rescinded.

He was trying to keep as open a mind as he could despite being certain of her guilt. There was that doubt that he was wrong and she was innocent of the attack, but the moment such a consideration came to mind, he also thought of her confessions and the fact she had lied after it, claiming to have told him everything in spite of possessing further important details. That was a crime he couldn't forgive her of... but lying to protect someone she felt was a friend wasn't comparable to planning to murder him. The two crimes weren't worthy of the same punishment, and though he hated her choices and lost his trust in her regardless, he couldn't treat her as though she was already guilty of the worst of them.

If there was a little doubt over her guilt, she didn't deserve the ferocity and cruelty she was currently experiencing. All would change if Lauren wasn't found or if she revealed a story that implicated Carina, but until either of those occurred, Sven knew he had to be a little less harsh on her. She was guilty of lying and deserved punishment for it... but that was all that could be proven; nothing else could be right now. He was eager to instil a little more authority in the kingdom, but abhorrently treating those not proven guilty wasn't a factor he was seeking to implement.

The change of heart was evident when Natalia headed into the bedroom by the time morning arose, followed by two maids. The first maid presented a full breakfast before taking her leave, the other placing down a plainer dress before following suit, but Natalia already knew neither the food nor the clothes would be of any interest to Carina once she saw what -or rather who- Natalia held in her arms.

"...Sven changed his mind. I'm not sure what you discussed with him last night, but whatever occurred, clearly something changed his mind. He said you should feed him; poor thing's been grizzling for the last ten minutes for a feed," the adviser murmured as the soft smiles she offered down to the inquisitive newborn in her arms remained surprisingly in place as she peered across to Carina, if only faltering at the sight of the frozen surroundings. In response, she gently tucked the blanket around Lorcan to protect him from the cold before carefully offering him over to the arms of his mother.

"He's still going ahead with his plans, but this is... at least indicative of his doubt, Carina. It's good news. I told you, have some faith. If you are innocent, the truth will come out. Lauren's whereabouts are unknown but we'll find her, the guards will bring her to justice," she commented as she returned to the armchair, grimacing to herself at the discomfort the frozen furniture provided but she could hardly complain when Carina had spent the night in the room.

"Sven is doing fine. His stitches came apart in his sleep, he must have been dreaming about something awful because he jolted awake and burst them, but-- the physician fixed him up, told him not to move about so much. If... you wanted to know how he was, that's... the story, anyhow," she continued as she set her hands on her knees, doing her best not to visibly shiver - though the fact her nose had turned red and her hands balled into fists to try and keep her fingers warm wasn't subtle. Born and bred in Ignis, she wasn't used to the sight of ice let alone the cold it provided.

"...You should eat your breakfast after feeding Lorcan. You need the energy - if not for you, then for your son. I... assume that Sven will allow you to continue to feed him until the end of the week - and beyond that should Lauren absolve you of your presumed guilt. You can't provide for him if you're too weak to do so, Carina. The boy needs his mother, hm?"
 
The lack of control she had on her powers during the conversations with Natalia and then Sven was something Carina came to regret when it came time to at least try to sleep. The bed had been frozen rock solid, the blankets stiff and unyielding to any movement she could possibly request. The chair was no option, not because it too was laced with ice but simply because it would be difficult to become comfortable on there in anyway that would allow her any chance of sleep. In the end, she had been forced to fetch some of the spare blankets from the wardrobe to rest on the chaise in the far corner of the room. The ice hadn't reached there.

However, even curled up on the soft, plush cushions of the chaise, despite not having slept soundly or properly since Sven's attack, Carina was unable to fall into the grips of sleep.

Her mind kept travelling to the hurt on Sven's expression, to the blood that stained their bed and the carpets. The scarlet that painted her hands and ruined her nightdress. Each time her mind wandered there, she flinched and shook her head, turning over as if to turn away from the images her mind cruelly conjured.

For Carina, she could see no way out of the mess she had created for herself. Unknowingly and unwillingly, but had done nonetheless. She didn't have any hope that Lauren would be found, considering the maid had a few hours before Sven's orders came into action to hunt her down. Thus, she would end up hanging... or burning... whatever Sven could bring himself to do. She would die as a traitor, her husband believing she truly wanted him dead. Lorcan would grow up believing that too. Both those thoughts ripped a new tear in her heart each time they came to mind.

When the door was unlocked the next morning, Carina's eyes peeled themselves open but she kept her back to those who entered, cocooned within a bundle of blankets on the chaise. Her heart immediately went to her mouth at the three sets of footsteps, bile rising in her throat as anxiety had her expect the worst reason possible. That Sven's words of care were his own manipulation to get back at her and the whole conversation yesterday had just convinced him to not even bother waiting. That, perhaps, the three were a guard, someone to read her her last rites, and a maid to help her dress.

Steadying herself as best as possible, Carina quietly pushed herself up and reluctantly twisted to see if her mind was right. However, her lips parted not at the sight of the well-made food or the plainer dress, but at the sight of Natalia holding her son.

The temperature in the room lifted instantly, and she stumbled to her feet in her desperation to get to Lorcan. Her hands reached out before hesitating and retracting, looking to Natalia as she tried to register the other's words, having missed them in her desperation just see her child. "So I can..." She didn't get the chance to ask, as he was placed in her arms and, as a result, tears dripped onto her cheeks again.

"This isn't because of anything I said. This is... this is all down to you. He... listens to you, believes you. He doesn't with me, not anymore." Her voice was thick, indictive of the rest of the tears she was pushing back as bright blue eyes stared up at her. She hiccupped a soft, watery laugh and moved to sit back on the chaise, not taking her eyes off Lorcan.

Reluctantly, she tore her gaze from the child to look up at Natalia, hesitating once more as she witnessed her discomfort. "I'm... sorry about... this." She referred to the ice by allowing her gaze to wander over the walls nearest the chair and bed, "I... since that bracelet's been removed... my control isn't as... it once was. When I didn't have to... you get it." She fidgeted briefly in her seat, sheepish and uncertain of herself before she freed an arm to motion beside her, "The... chaise isn't cold, and there's... blankets... I'd feel... better if you weren't just sat there freezing."

Her hand then returned to help cradled Lorcan close to her, the offer out there and she wasn't about to force the woman to sit there if she didn't want to. She had reached out with an olive branch, of sorts, it was up to Natalia to decide whether or not to take it.

"He... has the physician given him anything? For the pain? Don't tell me he's working, at least. He-- he needs to stay in bed. He needs to rest. He can't be... he can't be stressing himself out with work."

The concern was immediate, her stomach twisting at the prospect of it being a long and difficult road in which he may have to take to recover. It went without saying that she wanted to know how he was doing, despite knowing that she had no right to. But it would never sit well with her knowing she was the reasons he was in the state he was in.

Carina went quiet as the woman told her she needed to keep her strength up, eyes lingering on Lorcan's face as her hand reached up to gently pull the edge of the blanket away from his mouth so she could see him properly. His head turned into her chest, clearly seeking food with his mouth opening wide, and that jolted her back into action, pulling her away from her thoughts. She turned partially from Natalia, taking one of the thinner blankets to drape over her shoulder, chest and Lorcan before beginning to feed him.

"Not to sound dramatic, Natalia but... he may need to get used to not being to have me when he needs me." She murmured eventually, wincing slightly at the sharp pain that came from Lorcan latching on. She turned her head to look at the woman from over her shoulder, hesitating again, "Why... are you doing this for me? I'm grateful, I am. But I just... we've never gotten along. I'm potentially guilty of trying to kill your best friend and someone you love... so why are you... helping me?"
 
"He's argued relentlessly against staying in bed, you know how he can be when he feels he ought to be working, but I think he also understands, deep down, that his health can't be risked. Last night was a reminder of how frail he is at the moment; I think he'll listen to the advice he's given. He has to, I won't be letting him do otherwise." Natalia replied as she found herself incapable of staring at the frozen state of the room in a mixture of awe and bewilderment.

It had always fascinated her how Sven harboured the powers he did; possessed abilities the common Ignisi people could only dream of. As frightening as the idea of him possessing such a dangerous element to wield whenever he commanded it, Natalia was used to it; she had grown up beside Sven, seen him nurture his power as much as he could.

And when she lived in a land of fire, her best friend being able to produce those flames didn't unnerve her as much as it perhaps ought to.

But ice? That was a different matter entirely. Eira had always been a place that, though geographically close, felt a million miles away. Its landscape was so vastly juxtaposed to Ignisi's, and its people had always maintained a different approach to life than the Ignisians had. It was a place Natalia had always been wary of, the idea of living amongst snow and ice in contrast to the fire and ash she had grown up amongst always making her grimace in discomfort.

So to be in the bedroom, its surfaces frozen solid and ice cracking along the walls... it was like a microcosm of Eira, a small example of the kingdom Carina hailed from. Natalia couldn't exactly say she was fascinated by it all, not when it also emphasised the lack of control the Queen currently had of herself. The adviser had witnessed what Carina could do with her powers when she had control of them, her slaying of the Ignisian men responsible for the incident with the carriage remaining vivid in Natalia's memory... so she could only fear what might happen to her if Carina didn't have that control.

She refused to let the fear and unnerve show as she instead accepted the offer to take a seat somewhere more comfortable than the frozen armchair, even if that place was beside Carina on the chaise. Being so close to someone who could abruptly lose control and hurt her (purposely or otherwise) wasn't easy, but Natalia had to believe that the kindness she had shown to Carina thus far was enough to remain on the woman's good side.

"Because it's the right thing to do. I'd do this for anyone. You seem to think I'm a cold-hearted cow, and I'm not. I admit I'm not overly fond of... many people, or many things, but I have my beliefs - and I can't allow someone who I believe is innocent to suffer at the gallows. Just because you're in this situation doesn't mean I'd turn my back on what's right, Carina. You didn't... plot to kill him, it makes no sense," she clarified as she cast the woman a glance, the confusion from her being understandable. On the surface, it hardly made sense for Natalia to go out of her way to help someone she had always shown an intense disdain and disgust for; someone who she could blame for breaking the dreams she had of a future at Sven's side.

And for a while, that was all Carina was to her - the undeserving figure who had taken everything Natalia had wanted in life. She hadn't cared for her, nor cared to even try to understand her in any way; she had her negative opinion of her and refused to let it budge in any way.

But she couldn't maintain that stubbornness when Carina wasn't the villain she was being painted out to be. She didn't see her as the duplicitous murderess who sought power and glory at all costs, and that helped to see other aspects to the Queen she had neglected to see in their fraught past.

"I'm not saying I intend on becoming best friends with you. You still annoy me a great deal and I'm sure you aren't my biggest fan either, but... I know what it's like to have nobody and I wouldn't wish that loneliness on my worst enemy. Besides, as I said, I think you're innocent and you ought to have someone in your corner, defending you. Your only crime is lying to Sven, isn't it? I've done that before, I've lied in a far worse way than you did. You lied to protect a friend, I lied to... deceive him. You don't deserve to be punished when my lies were far graver than your own, so... without wanting to sound soppy, I think you need someone on your side and I'm not necessarily against being that person right now."

Unused to such heartfelt admissions, Natalia's expression hardened a little as she peered back around the room, her hands resting on her knees. She didn't enjoy the openness of her confessions when she was used to maintaining a professionalism around the castle that only ebbed when she was in private or around Sven... but Carina probably needed a little of Natalia's softer side; to see that the adviser wasn't the cold, callous person she probably presented herself as on most days.

"...Your son is adorable, by the way. You know that, of course, but it's the first time I've really seen him and-- he's perfect, Carina."
 
"Here," the woman freed a hand and lifted herself briefly off the chaise to pull a furrier throw from underneath herself, "No point freezing. Not like I need to be blamed for hurting anyone else around here." She reached awkwardly to settle the throw over Natalia's knees once the other had sat down, pulling away not long after with an uncomfortable clearing of her throat.

Carina fidgeted in her seat as Natalia began to explain herself, head bowing to look down to where Lorcan would be under the blanket as she listened. "I never thought you were cold hearted... you wouldn't have loved Sven the way you do if you were," she answered softly, hand slipping back under the blanket as Lorcan finished with his feed. She sorted her nightgown to cover herself once more before removing the blanket. The baby was then propped up to face over her shoulder, and she started to pat gently at his back and she gave Natalia her attention once more, "I just... knew you despised me. That's why I'm asking. And I-- I did plot to kill him, months ago, of course, and I had nothing to do with this attempt but... but I still did."

She knew she shouldn't be reminding the adviser of that, but she didn't want her in her 'corner', so to speak, if she had forgotten that truth already. If Natalia was truly going to support her (which was a weird experience in itself), she didn't want the other woman to feel like Carina had made her to be a fool.

Because Carina was having her own revelations about the other woman. Before, she had been certain that Natalia would have taken any opportunity to get her out of the picture in order to have Sven to herself. It was something Carina had taunted her with, back when she and Sven hated one another and Natalia had still been his lover as well as his adviser. She had always suspected that the woman would have done something in order to win Sven over - which of course she did try in the end, but failed with. If those fears were true, then surely Natalia would have been making the most of this opportunity to have Sven dispose of Carina as a traitor sooner rather than convincing him to at least give her a week.

Her eyes started to water again and she swallowed past the lump that was forming in her throat. "It's odd that the person who believes me is the last person I thought who would." She murmured, halting in the burping as the babe finally did. She settled him back in her arms, smiling quietly down at him as his eyes started to droop closed, now full and content with himself. Her eyes then drifted back up to Natalia, where she hesitated before speaking, "Thank you... for doing just that, though. I know... what you said about it being unlikely for us to... be friends, and agree that we probably annoy one another in equal measure but... if... Lauren is somehow miraculously found and I'm not... well, I guess I'm just trying to say that I... I hope we might be at least slightly more... comfortable with each other in the future."

Carina breathed out quietly and quickly redirected her gaze back down to Lorcan, shifting so her feet could tuck underneath her and bowing her head to press her lips to the baby's head. The gentlest and most hushed squeaks and breaths came from him, and Carina felt overwhelmed with how much her heart swelled.

Ice began to slowly retract from the walls, as if it were melting but not a drop of water to be seen.

"Took his time in meeting us... but got there eventually." She replied, keeping her voice low now so she didn't disturb him, "I just... wish I hadn't..." She trailed off, biting her lower lip but soon releasing it due to the sharp pain from the cut she had already caused. She didn't dare continue to say she wished she hadn't ruined his family for him. She didn't want to speak such negative words around him, not if they would be some of the last ones he heard her say.

"He really is perfect. I... I honestly never expected to love something this much. Sven--... Sven having been the exception, of course."
 
"I'm... aware you plotted to hurt him in the past and believe me, I... I would hate you for it if you hadn't made such an effort since then to mend your ways. I've made mistakes that I've learnt from, Carina. Your mistake-- you made up for it, haven't you? And Sven said he forgave you for that, he told me he'd understood the hatred that existed back then. If he forgave you for it, then so can I," she continued with another faint shrug, her eyes resting on her lap as her hands, the tips of her fingers red from the bitter chill in the air, tugged the blanket across her in desperation for the warmth it would provide.

Discussing plots that had been made to end Sven of his life was hardly easy for Natalia. She might understand the context of such a plan when Carina had undoubtedly despised the man back then and everything he represented, but it didn't make it any easier to hear that her best friend (and someone she would always care for) could have been taken from her. She had dropped the idea of a romance blossoming between them but that didn't mean she had ever stopped caring about him, and the idea of losing him when he was quite literally the only person she had left in her life terrified her.

She ought to hate Carina for that alone but she couldn't; not when she had clearly moved on from the person she had been back then. If anyone knew about the importance of second chances, it was Natalia - and when Carina had been gracious enough to offer her one, the least she could do was return the favour.

Focusing on Lorcan was, she hoped, a good distraction from what was inevitably a stressful, emotionally-wrought time for Carina - though it was perhaps unrealistic to assume that she would be able to place the situation aside when her circumstances and the consequences of her actions were evident in everything she did. Just holding Lorcan would bring to mind the fact Sven wasn't present taking in the scene with her - and just why that was.

All Natalia could do was try and turn the conversation away from things that might cause distress - and if they did naturally arise, she felt inclined to reassure Carina. It was something she would never have envisioned herself doing but nothing in Natalia's life had ever been straightforward. Genuinely reassuring the woman she once dramatically saw as her enemy shouldn't be all that surprising in the context of her life as a whole.

"I'm not a parent, but I imagine there's not a love like that between a mother and their child. I was watching Sven with him last night, it was-- amazing, the love he had for him. You both are wonderful parents in your own right, I'm certain of it. Lorcan's lucky to have you both. My parents weren't great, neither were Sven's. It's... comforting to know Lorcan won't have that complaint."
 
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