Cloudless climes and sunny beams

Emy

Emy

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Lucianne Lovejoy

Lucianne nodded. "That sounds about right," she said. "I actually only met Cornelius recently. I'd known Claudius for much longer but he sometimes told me stories of Cornelius, back when he was younger. The entire thing was apparently always just this sword of Damocles hanging over the two of them."
 
Romi

Romi

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"So..." Jude trailed off a moment. "Cornelius is a prince of sorts, and he had to run this tournament more or less against his will. And he was friends with Claudius. But... who exactly is Claudius in all this? Just a friend?"
 
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Lucianne Lovejoy

"Hm?" She blinked at him for a moment in surprise. "What, no. Claudius is Cornelius's older brother. He had a streak of very bad luck back in the day that drove him out of court and into the human world. It's not my place to say what happened exactly."
 
Romi

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Oh! Oh. That explained a lot, and Jude grimaced.

"Siblings..." He said. He had none, and the whole thing was... well, he could get it, but it wasn't like he could relate. But he understood the gist of things. Claudius would be the heir to the throne if the Regalia followed the most standard style of succession. Only he'd been... what, exiled? Abandoned his claim?

And that meant Cornelius, who'd never wanted it, was suddenly in the line of fire.

"That's unfortunate. I suppose I'm surprised he took him on as a proctor in that case."
 
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Lucianne Lovejoy

She wrinkled her nose. "Cornelius, um." Lucianne wondered how to phrase it delicately and decided to simply go for it. "Cornelius doesn't really understand relationships. Like, emotionally, he just isn't there. It's not his fault, it's just that something doesn't click right."

"Claudius, from what I've understood, was pretty much Cornelius's primary caregiver back when he was young," she continued. "So it's not that they weren't close; they really were. Well, as close as you can get with Cornelius anyways. Me, I think Cornelius asked him to participate because he still remembers those days. And Claudius just cares too much to refuse."
 
Romi

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That was... kind of sad, really. Unfair. To put a king on the throne who didn't want it. But also just...

"It's probably his power," he said quietly. "I haven't med Claudius, but Cornelius's power... I can understand why he'd struggle to deal with people with something like that." He couldn't imagine how it would effect your view of others. To know the things they'd done. To see all their sins and to have, in a way, power over it.

"I hope he finds someone nice, who can... I don't know. Support him. Be kind to him. I think he needs that." That person would need to be... maybe not flawless, but close. Maybe that way he'd let them in.
 
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Lucianne Lovejoy

She shivered a bit from sheer delight. "I'm glad that you think of it that way," she said, wondering at the sensation -a weird combination of weak knees and a tickle in her teeth. "He's a very patient Regalia, Cornelius is. I think he needs somebody equally so or else he'd never catch up to him."
 
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That made sense, and Jude nodded in agreement. You'd need... a lot of patience, and his brain ran through the options. Erione? Erione would be good, only Erione wasn't involved, as far as he knew. Maybe he'd text him and ask.

But he didn't have time to, spotting the bell in the distance.

"Do you want to ring, or should I? If he might get annoyed, I can do it so he's not frustrated at you."
 
Emy

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Lucianne Lovejoy

"It's all right, really," she said. "I was the one who asked you so it's only right that I'm the one to ring the bell. He doesn't seem to get angry at me very easily either, so I guess that's a plus." Confidently, she stepped up and rung the bell.

Within a few moments, Cornelius materialized on the plane, twisting into existence right out of the air. He blinked at the two expectantly as Lucianne said, "Hi, Cornelius! This is Jude. Do you mind granting us a pact?"

The Regalia blinked at the two again. "Lucianne, did you just meet him?" he asked mildly with a stare. "Isn't that taking things a bit fast."

She laughed nervously. "It's a good fit, I swear! Um, please, can you just do it?"
 
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