Embers of Sun and Flame (Fuegoleon Vermillion x OC)

Chapter 34 "Behave"

Behave, he had told her. It was only meant as a joke, but as she sat there, across the table from the Captain of the Golden Dawn, she felt it to be a reasonable comment to make. It was an apt reminded. Behave. Don't make it worse than it already is.

William looked at Solara with a smile on his face, his purple eyes flickering with kindness. There was a pot of tea and two cups on the table. Light trickled in through the window, and the room they were in, was simple. It wasn't decorated in a way one would expect a Captain's room to be decorated. It wasn't decorated by a noble.

But... he is noble, isn't he? I thought he was. And yet, it all seems barren. So... commonly... And... here you offer me tea. It is courteous yes, but that smile. How can you smile after what you did? She thought to herself as she sat there, feeling anger swirling inside of her. It was a vortex, one that began from a non-existent, insignificant, snuffed out flutter she thought that wouldn't have posed a problem. And yet, she felt Fue's whisper behave, ringing in her ear, to be the one thing reeling her in at that moment. You smile... She thought in a near despising tone. While he suffers. While he sees only nightmares. While he-! She closed her eyes for a brief second and took a deep breath as William poured her a cup of tea.

"Is there something wrong?" William inquired with a soft tone, much like a spring breeze.

"No, but thank you," she replied with softness of her own. Oh trust me *Masked Captain*, I'm alright. I'm perfectly alright. I am fine. All that bothers me is what you did to my beloved. *ALL THAT BOTHERS ME IS YOUR TREACHERY! *

"So, what brings you here?" He asked, innocence lacing his tone.

She sighed, not quite knowing how to begin the conversation while William waited patiently.

"I only recently discovered about the perpetrators behind the terrorist attack," she admitted. "Or rather who their leader was," she looked at him as he was about to place his cup against his lips.

He lifted his gaze to see her eyes piercing through him; he lifted his eyes to her for a moment of silence, as the train of his thought stood still. It was all stationary, the room, the conversation, all of it. As if everything was holding its breath while waiting to see what would happen next.

"I see," he uttered while lowering his gaze.

"Mhm."

Another silence settled into the air. Solara wasn't quite certain what she wanted from the exchange. But this wasn't it. She didn't want silence. She didn't want it all to remain in the dust. She didn't want it to be buried under all the bodies they had buried because of the attack.

"Why did the King let you get away with it?" She asked with winter frost seeping through her words.

"I-," he began, the words getting stuck in his throat. He let out a sigh. There was another pause in the air as he leaned slightly back in his chair, straightening his posture and taking a sip of his tea. "I don't know," he spoke out in whispers.

Not a satisfying answer. You don't know? Fine. Alright. Fair enough. Maybe you don't know why you were pardoned.

"Alright. The why did you do it?"

Another silence settled into the air as William chewed on his own words, the spoken and the unspoken.

"Because I-," he began once more, his gaze falling to the side. "I felt their pain...." He only whispered.

Solara stared at him, struggling to understand what he was saying. She shook her head, not knowing whether to cry, or laugh, as her gaze travelled around the room again. A chuckle full of disbelief escaped her before she turned her eyes back at William.