"for the beauty of the rose, we also water the thorns."
Descendant of Loa lineage, Karliah Shango stems from masters of Haitian and the old Oyo Empire Vodou. After the nuclear wipe out, she finds herself thrown into leadership with little comprehe...
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"Reign together?" Karliah repeated, tasting the words on her tongue for herself as an amused expression grew upon her face.
Michael folded his arms behind his back, jutting out his chin. "How well do you believe you run this little palace of yours, Karliah?" he countered, his blue eyes gleaming with determination.
She frowned, watching as a humored smirk grew on his lips before turning around, treading into her room. "It seems to me you're not doing that well of a job."
"And what makes you think that?" She called out, following him out of the bathroom.
He didn't respond, his boots scuffing along the rug-covered floor as he approached a wall of photos. Picking one of the frames off of the wall, he stared down at a portrait of a younger Karliah, along with her parents and grandfather. He ran a finger over the glass, a breath of a chuckle escaping his nose as he looked over Karliah, clad in a dashiki print dress and beaded braids falling past her youthful face.
The girl suddenly walked over to him, attempting to snatch the framed photo from his grip but to no avail. He barely budged as she pulled, tilting his head as he watched her huff in annoyance. He tugged it back, inevitably pulling her closer to him in the process.
His blonde hair fell past his shoulders as he leaned towards her face, "They still see you as a child." he stated, seemingly questioning her.
She stared up at him, regretting the feeling of her stomach sinking as she met his piercing blue eyes. Her lips parted, a stammering response escaping in turn, "I don't know what you're talking about."
The man smiled, seemingly humored by the fretful look on her face. "You don't?" His breath brushed against her lips. Karliah bit her lip, her gaze lingering on him for several seconds longer until he backed down with a chuckle, looking back down at the photo in his hands.
"From what I've gathered, you were born only to be a queen, to fulfill the prophecy and save the world," he took in her amber gaze once again, jerking the framed picture from her fingertips. "And it seems to be that everyone wants you to follow what's been set in place. Everyone except for you." His fingers softly ran against her bruising cheek. "I know what you want, Karliah." he hummed.
His hand fell from her face as he stepped back, glancing down at the photo once more with furrowed brows. He suddenly raised his arm before throwing it to the ground, shards of glass shattering amongst the wooden floor.
Karliah froze, staring at the remnants of the photo slack-jawed as she met Michael's smug expression, fists balling up as a look of anger grew upon her face. The shards suddenly flew up into the air, steadily levitating with a flick of Michael's fingers.
