Late at night when the walls were the loudest, Maria awoke to the sight of Raven sitting by her feet with his body half-shadowed under the creeping moonlight. Turning her head to the window, she could see the moon princess, as radiant as ever and shining bright on her body. She reminded her of a time when her true mother wasn't as addicted to the drugs running on the streets.
She told her stories about the princess shining just as brightly on the poor as she did the wealthy. Her hand reached for the princess, a smile visible to Maria on her shimmering face, but never reaching her with her hand, it wasn't long before it fell tired onto the bed.
The sound of her hand flopping on the bed alerted Raven. Looking over to Maria, her face half basking in the moonlight; a smile flitted over his life and he wasn't sure why. For a spell, their eyes met, but Maria quickly looked away to the side. She didn't wanna look at him or anyone for that matter as she knew what she'd done was beyond unforgivable.
"I won't beg forgiveness, you know?" Shifting her gaze back to the princess, she pulled herself up and sat on the bed. Squeezing her legs close with her arms, Maria rested her head on her knees and kept staring out of the bright window. "I didn't do anything wrong, anyone in my situation would've done the same..."
A wretched life of a harlot's child, then a princess who'd been cursed by a vampire, even married to a man with whom she never wished to bear a child, leading her to find greater men so that her children would be healthy rather than plagued and dying like she once was.
"Everyone in the castle thinks of me as an whore. A whore who sleeps with any man who can swing a sword.
If only they knew what I've been through they'll realize why I did what I did and why I thought I might as well try to enjoy it..." There was no remorse in Maria's voice, she truly believed that she'd done what was required of her, only the bare minimum for survival even if it meant staking the lives of thousands through the hands of a vampire.
Done saying her piece, she expected Raven to criticize her further. But instead, she felt a gentle hand wrapping around her fingers. Looking at it to the side, she noticed Raven squeezing her hand, it wasn't too hard so it wasn't a punishment, which to her was beyond surprising.
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"Well so are you, but I'd rather you stay than waste your life with some stupid mistake," Raven shot back.
"You wanted me dead anyway! What the fuck changed?!" Maria continued on struggling, but Raven's hand just wouldn't let her slip away.
"You act tough and arrogant but I think there's a part of you that sees through it and wants to change."
"You need glasses then! I said I don't wanna change already!"
"Who said you have to?" Hearing those words, Maria's struggles abruptly halted. She didn't expect him to say that, especially since he was the one who brought up the talk about changing herself.
Letting her hands loose while in thought, she felt Raven's grip loosen up on her hand before eventually, the back of her palm hit the bed.
"I thought you wanted me to change..." She muttered, a bit curious about where things were headed.
"No," closing his eyes for a moment, Raven leaned away. "I don't, I just want you to unleash that monster in you in other ways or at people who deserve it. Usurping their power, their influence, I want you to hone that edge in you rather than abandoning it as if it's a curse and not a blessing that makes you unique like every dysfunctional member of this party."
It was time for a talk, one that Raven had had with Arche not too long ago. And just like him, the ex-queen needed to hear it.