location: back in new valyria after the verdant concord. a dinner celebration with various noble families in attendance
@naelysvelaryon
there was very little about eliza celtigar that could ever be called laid back. she had never been that sort of woman, not in childhood and certainly not now. and when it came to nellie’s wellbeing, any hope of ease unraveled entirely.
because nellie was not simply her friend. she was something closer, something that felt carved into her very being. a piece of her, perhaps, split apart by some careless god and set walking in another body. it was the only way eliza could make sense of it, this pull that never quieted, this need to keep her close, to keep her safe.
still, she tried. for nellie, she always tried.
the room had been busy not moments before, filled with the quiet shuffle of silk and the low murmur of maids at work. eliza had said very little, seated at first with a composed stillness that might have seemed calm to anyone who did not know her. but her eyes never stopped moving.
she watched everything.
the way one maid’s hands lingered too long at nellie’s hair, the uneven pull of lacing at her back, the slight crease left in the fabric of her sleeve. each imperfection was noted, held, judged. once, she rose without a word to adjust a pin herself, ignoring the startled look the girl gave her. another time, she simply cleared her throat, soft but sharp enough that the maid faltered and corrected her work immediately.
nothing escaped her. nothing was allowed to.
only when she was satisfied did she dismiss them, a small flick of her fingers sending them out, one by one, until the door shut softly behind the last of them.
then she moved.
she crossed the space between them without hesitation, drawn in as she always was. “come here” she murmured, already reaching. “let me fix this. it isn’t perfect.”
her fingers were quick and precise, smoothing a stray piece of hair back into place, tightening the lacing at the back of nellie’s dress with careful attention. she took her time with it, more than necessary, as if the act itself mattered just as much as the result, as if this was something only she should do.
“there…” she said at last, her voice softer now, almost satisfied. “now it is. as it should be. as you deserve.”
her gaze lingered a moment too long before she stepped back, eyes tracing over her work, committing every detail to memory as though she might need it later.
a faint smile followed, small and knowing, before she turned to look at herself in the mirror, adjusting a ring at her finger, smoothing invisible creases from her own skirts. her reflection was flawless, as it always needed to be, but her attention flickered back to nellie even then, never straying far.
“have you heard of anyone attending tonight?” she asked, tone light, almost idle. “gods, i hope they are good company. i think i’ve had enough bonding with other kingdoms for the year.” she said with a slight smirk to her red lips “i hope you dont think i truly awful for that. but i wish for it just to be our kingdom there tonight” she said before mumbling to herself “at least the good ones”