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@honorforged-archive1
Annnd Zuko has moved! You can find me at the same url, honorforged. Zuko is now a main blog! I'll be spending the evening moving things over. If I recently replied to you from here, just reply as usual, and I'll make a repost on my next turn.
Zuko's reaction only simmered with more brooding intensity and threat of boiling over. His temper was like the fire he carried within, it sparked to life with a quickness at time and burned too hot though sometimes it was quick to burn itself out of oxygen and when he had nothing left to fuel him he would end up slumping his shoulders in a show of defeat. Emotional battles took more of a toll on him than physical fighting ever could and to see the state of him threatening to border into volcano status, she softened and managed to get control of her intrusive fit of giggles. Mai's gaze fell to find familiar fists at his sides, fists that often resembled her own in moments of heightened emotions and her stomach dropped realizing she was the cause of it and the reason for his discomfort. "I am taking you very seriously, I promise." Though no one else would've believed her, Mai was begging for him to understand that she wasn't intentionally joking or teasing him. Here gaze softened into something sadder as she watched his who demeanor deflate, something more akin to deflating with air than an eruption of a fiery volcano. "I don't mean to laugh. It isn't funny.. well, it is but not because I think you're a joke." She promised, biting her bottom lip as she carefully thought through her word choice before she made matters any worse. Folding her hands together behind her back, Mai rocked forward on her toes and kissed his cheek without any other warning or preamble. "Sometimes people laugh when they're nervous or uncomfortable. Like an uncontrollable reaction when people die. I've just never heard anyone say anything so serious to me before.. and mean it."
Zuko felt the sting of Mai’s words more acutely than the burn of any flame. His fists remained clenched at his sides, nails digging into his palms, grounding him in the moment as he fought to keep his temper from blazing out of control. The anger flickered and sputtered, threatening to consume him, but as her voice softened and her gaze fell to his hands, something inside him began to wither. She was trying to explain herself, trying to get through to him. But all he could hear was the echo of his own vulnerability hanging in the air between them. His chest tightened, and a tremor passed through him, not from the overwhelming sense of being seen and yet misunderstood. He had laid himself bare, had spoken words that felt as raw as an open wound, and now those words lay exposed, their weight twisted and mangled by Mai’s laughter.
But then she stepped forward, closed the space between them, and pressed a kiss to his cheek. The warmth of it sent a shiver down his spine, melting the hard edges of his anger. His eyes closed, and he leaned into her touch, a sigh slipping past his lips. “I mean it,” he said, his voice rough and low, barely above a whisper. “I meant every word.” Zuko remained still, eyes fixed on the floorboards as Mai’s words swirled through his mind like embers caught in a gust of wind. His jaw clenched, then unclenched, the tension in his body slowly dissipating as the sting of her laughter settled into a dull ache beneath his ribcage. He wanted to be angry, to let the fire simmer and consume the raw, aching vulnerability she’d exposed. But the warmth of her kiss still lingered on his cheek, soft and fleeting, and it unraveled him more thoroughly than any argument ever could.
His fists slowly uncurled, fingers flexing at his sides as he took a breath, deep and shaky, like he was trying to draw air into lungs that suddenly felt too tight. He swallowed, throat dry, the words trapped behind a barrier of pride and wounded ego. How could he explain that his jealousy was a beast he couldn’t tame because it had always been his companion. A constant, gnawing shadow that whispered he was never enough? Never enough for his father. Never enough to hold onto his mother. Never enough to keep Mai’s affection. Zuko’s eyes flicked up to her, searching her face as though he might find some reassurance there, some proof that she hadn’t just dismantled him for sport. But all he found was her own discomfort, the way she shifted on her feet, biting her lip like she was trying to hold back a flood of words. Was that guilt in her eyes? Regret?
The silence between them stretched, heavy and fragile, and Zuko felt his shoulders slump beneath the weight of it. A sigh slipped past his lips, and he lifted one hand to run through his hair, pushing the dark strands back from his face as if it might help him think more clearly. “I guess… I’m not very good at this,” he admitted, voice rough and raw. “Talking about how I feel.” His gaze fell again, and he rubbed at the back of his neck, fingers pressing into the tension gathered there. “I just… I hate feeling like this,” he said, his tone dropping to a murmur. “ Like I have to prove I’m worthy.” He swallowed again, the bitterness of the words coating his tongue like ash. “And I know it’s stupid. I know you chose me. But sometimes it feels like… like I’m still fighting to keep what’s already mine.” His hand dropped to his side, and he shook his head, a soft, humorless laugh escaping him. “See? It’s ridiculous.” But when he looked at Mai again, the vulnerability remained. “Tell me it’s ridiculous,” he said in a desperate, aching plea to hear her say it and mean it.
I'm realizing one of the reasons I've been less active on Elsa and more on Zuko is that 90% of my interactions are with other canon characters. The majority of my interactions are crossovers, and while I love them all a lot, I really miss having Frozen canons to interact with. On Zuko, I'm not feeling like I'm having to sell people on crossovers that they're not all that into or seeing 'no disney' on people's rules. It's just less work. RP hasn't been this genuinely fun in a long while.
Mai watched out of the corner of her eye for the smirk she knew was firmly planted on Zuko's lips just by the sound of his voice. Her gaze traveled down the length of his arm to watch as he took hold of her hand, threading his fingers through hers in the same familiar pattern they'd promised together for the rest of their lives. To hear his breathy chuckle eased some of the tension from her, all the responsibilities and expectations of the day begging to ebb away the longer they stayed hidden away together to shed the layers of propriety and just be themselves again for a while. "Good. If he's as nice as you say he is, he deserves it. My mother will be irreparably upset you didn't name our daughter after her though. It'll be your job to tell her." She jibed snidely, leaning one shoulder into him knowing he wouldn't budge from his steady hold. Instead Zuko wrapped her in closer against him and she hummed with approval. "Please. I don't want anyone to know it came from us, that's not the point. Maybe there are other single mothers of families that could use the help the most? Anyone who has lost their heads of household..." Sadness wound its way through her words, leaning her head against his shoulder as her thoughts momentarily wandered to the prospect of doing any of this without Zuko by her side and her chest ached for them at the prospect. "Do we have anyone who keeps records like that?" She scrunched her face up in thought as she scanned the piles of gifts in brief monetary assessment as if she was tallying up all the facts and figures herself. "She deserves as close to a normal life as we can give her...Yan the Second." Mai echoed the sentiments she knew he shared but emphasizing all the words left unspoken and thinly veiled reference to their own childhood experiences. As if feeling the insecurity rising up, her hand ghosted over top of his where it rested protectively against her belly. She sighed, breathing a little easier as he promised all the gifts would be checked and re-checked for any sign of nefarious activity but the threat would always linger somewhere in the recesses of their minds. "You don't think anyone would... I mean, they wouldn't try... would they?" She asked quieter, shifting her head to look up at his side profile from the way he was still securely holding both her and the baby with each of his arms stretched around them.
Zuko’s smirk lingered, softening into a warm, contented smile as he felt Mai lean into him. The way her hand fit so perfectly against his, fingers intertwined in a pattern that had become as natural as breathing, was a grounding comfort in a world where everything else felt like it was constantly shifting beneath his feet. Her jab about her mother earned a quiet chuckle, the sound low and close to her ear. "Oh, I’ll tell her," he said, voice rich with teasing. "I’m sure she’ll take it well." His arm tightened around her, pulling her in just that little bit closer, and he rested his chin against the top of her head as she spoke. The sadness that threaded through her words didn’t go unnoticed, and Zuko’s chest tightened at the thought of her ever having to do any of this alone. "That’s a good idea," he said, his thumb tracing slow circles against her shoulder. "I’ll talk to the ministers and see what we can do. There has to be someone keeping track of those families. If there isn’t, we’ll start it ourselves."
Mai’s words about giving their daughter a normal life echoed in his mind, each one a reminder of everything they’d gone without and everything they wanted to protect her from. Zuko swallowed, the weight of it pressing down on him as Mai’s hand settled over his, grounding him. When she looked up at him, her eyes dark and uncertain, Zuko met her gaze, his own steady and sure. "No," he said firmly, voice quiet but resolute. "Not while I’m here. And I’m not going anywhere, Mai." He leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead, lingering there for a beat. "I promise. You and our daughter are safe."
Mai could feel the stubborn strength in the tightness of his shoulder beginning to give into her the more rhythmic pressure she applied. She felt Zuko starting to relax too as he leaned back and more heavily into her touch and she tracked the deep inhales and exhales of his practiced measured breathing that only helped to clear his mind of the stresses and worries of the day to leave them all behind. The firm but gentle massage in combination with the warmth of the tea was exactly what he needed and she knew him too well not to know the exact fix and cure for most of his ailments, whether self-inflicted or delivered by the chaos of a day filled with unprompted singing and broken palace doors.
Mai leaned over his shoulder, dutifully checking the contents of his teacup and pleased to find it drained and empty as she used the sides of her hands to cut into the grooves of his shoulder just above his collarbone and draw the pressure over to his back and drawing an invisible line down his spine. “What a romantic.” She teased, rolling her eyes despite the dark humor of her smile. “This would be easier if you were actually lying down and not in a chair.” She grumbled, unable to reach his lower back at the base of his spine to complete her massage efforts. As she went to make another pass over his upper arms, he managed to catch hold of her hand as his fingers grazed and traced softly over hers. Mai was caught off guard for a moment, watching with measured curiosity as he leaned his head back to meet her gaze in an upside down way. “It’s kind of my job to take care of you, it comes with the whole ‘I love you forever’ thing.” She reminded him as he squeezed her hand and shifted out of his seat to tug her along with him to the sofa. Normally she wasn’t so amenable to being told what to do, but she was easily coaxed to follow his command to sit down and instantly she felt the distribution of the baby’s weight shift and it was a relief she didn’t know she was waiting for like the tightness of a breath she’d been holding in for too long. Leaning back into the softness of the cushions, she let out a sigh of contentment that bordered on a pleasurable groan. “I see my master plan all along is finally working…” She teased, eyelids fluttering in his direction with a gentle smile. “But you also don’t need to take care of me. You’ve had a long day.” Her words appeared to fall on deaf ears as he sat before her and took hold of one of her feet. As soon as he slipped his hands beneath the layers of her robes, it sent a thrill of a different kind of excitement through her that he always elicited from her she hoped would never diminish. Instead, her gently began to return the favor of her massage by kneading the swelling of her ankles, her traitorous body telling on her by the sheer size of them that she’d overdone it for the day and even as he pointed it out to her she knew it to be true by the tiredness settling into her body at rest. “Don’t say nice things to me right now. I’ll cry.” She wielded it as a threat, but she reached out with one hand to run her fingers through his hair as best she could from her seated waddling position. “You are always useful. You are everything to me…you both are.” Mai brushed her other hand over the swell of her belly just to feel the life within, stirring from the contact. “Someone wants to say hello…”
His hands moved slowly, thumbs pressing gentle circles into the swollen curve of her ankle. He swallowed, eyes fixed on the rise and fall of her belly. The sight never failed to ground him, reminding him that beneath all the stress and chaos around them, there was something so much bigger and more important.
“Hello, little one,” he murmured, his voice warm and low as he leaned closer, his hands still working slow, soothing motions over Mai’s foot. “It’s you're father.” Zuko’s gaze softened, his thumb brushing gentle strokes over the top of her foot as his eyes lingered on the curve of her belly. “I love you so much already, you know that? I can’t wait to hold you, to see you, to hear what your little voice sounds like.” His lips curved in a soft, almost wistful smile. “I think about it all the time, what you’ll look like, what kind of person you’ll be. If you’ll have my eyes or your mama’s smile.”
He leaned forward, resting his forehead against Mai’s knee, his hand moving to her other foot to continue the slow, deliberate massage. “But you stay right where you are for now, okay?” he whispered, his voice thick. “Keep growing strong. We can wait a little longer. You take all the time you need.” His fingers traced a gentle, absentminded pattern over Mai’s ankle, his gaze distant but soft. “We’re ready whenever you are,” he murmured, a slight tremor in his voice. “But for now… just keep being safe and warm in there. We love you so much.”
Zuko's goal in life is to finish whatever this nonsense is so he can go home to Mai.
Zuko is the best example of villains aren't born, they're made.
Zuko following Mai around Caldera shouting I HAVE NEVER HAD SEX BEFORE.
Mai stood her ground, resolute in her icy demeanor and making her displeasure known by the very shadows cast over her stony features. She would not be moved and even as Zuko took his own righteous path of indignation, attempting to justify his actions Mai saw it for exactly what it was: the audacity he possessed for assuming she would just accept his apology and move on because that's what she was always expected to do. Her lips pressed together into a thin line, the tension of her teeth clenched together evident by the sculpted definition of her jawline and the jut of her chin. It was the same, he just refused to see it as such because one version of events absolved him of guilt while the other gave him credibility for accusing her of inadvertently hurting him and marking her as the sole responsible party for it. "You know, you sound just like every single cheating husband who's ever tried to justify an affair to their wives. I should know." Mai's words came out calloused and cold, her glare just as cutting as before but a new and dangerous fire sparked to life behind her dark eyes. She watched him with true and genuine surprise when he started his accusatory statement about Kei Lo directed at her and a slow cruel smile began creeping across her lips until he unloaded and assigned her motives to her. "How dare you Zuko..." Mai nearly flinched, the bridge of her nose pinching in disbelief and confusion and she was beginning to lose her grip on her carefully cultivated exterior. "I didn't have anyone else! You made damn sure of that..." She shook her head in denial, vehement ferocity as her words started to waver. "You left me! Again! What was I supposed to do?! Everything was your choice... everything has always only ever been YOUR choice!"
Zuko’s mouth opened, but no sound came out. Mai’s words hit him like a blast of scorching fire to the chest. He wanted to defend himself, to say she was wrong, but the look in her eyes, that raw, aching hurt mixed with a fury she rarely let anyone see, froze the words in his throat. He hadn’t thought of it that way. That by leaving her, by making his choice without her, he’d taken away hers. That she’d been left alone, again and again, while he chased after what he thought was right. He thought he was protecting her. He thought he was doing the noble thing. But all he’d done was make her feel like she was disposable.
His fists clenched at his sides, nails digging into his palms. He swallowed hard, the muscles in his jaw working as he struggled to find the right words — any words. “Mai… I —” But what could he say that wouldn’t sound hollow? What excuse could he give that wouldn’t sound like every other lie she’d ever heard? “I didn’t… I didn’t think —” His voice broke, and he forced himself to look at her, really look at her. At the tears she was holding back, the quiver in her jaw. The way she was barely holding herself together. “I didn’t mean to take your choices away,” he said, voice low, almost a whisper. “I thought… I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought I was protecting you.”
Zuko’s shoulders sagged, the weight of Mai’s words pressing down on him. Each accusation ricocheting around his skull.. He swallowed thickly, throat tight, but the ache didn’t go away. “I didn’t want to hurt you,” he said, and the words came out strangled, like they were choking him. “I thought I was protecting you. From me. From everything I was —everything I am.” He dragged a shaky hand through his hair, fingers tangling in dark strands as he tried to keep himself from falling apart. “I know I keep saying that, and I know it doesn’t make it right. But I was scared, Mai. Scared that if I stayed, you’d see me for what I really am —a mess, a failure, a traitor.”
A tremor ran through him, a shudder that started at his shoulders and rolled down his spine. “You always saw the real me, and it terrified me. Because if you saw it, then you’d know. You’d know how weak I was. How… unworthy.” His gaze dropped to the ground, and he clenched his fists, knuckles white and shaking. “I didn’t love Jin. I barely knew her. It was one night. I was trying to pretend, to feel normal, to forget that I’d ruined everything. But it wasn’t real. You were. You always were.” He pressed his eyes shut, breath coming in shallow, uneven bursts. “I know that doesn’t change anything. I know it doesn’t make it okay. But I swear, Mai —if I could take it back, I would. I’d take it all back.” The words lingered in the air, a heavy and desperate plea.
Mai stood some feet away from him, the distance between them chasmic comparatively to their usual inability to keep their hands to themselves and off of one another. Her glare directed at him was downright glacial, as accusatory as the fighting words she'd fired off on him only moments before. Mai's stance might as well have been battle ready, steeling herself defensively and protectively with no invitation for him to get any closer. Eyebrows raised as her chin jutted forward, all of his answers and excuses falling flat into dead silence when she pressed them further with nothing more than the censure of a look. How many times had she heard the same reasoning? He never tried to hurt her and yet time and time again, he was the culprit and she his willing victim. Already she was shaking her head, refusing to accept the apology he supplied even with genuine pleading intent. "No, Zuko. No."
Zuko’s jaw tightened, a frustrated breath hissing through his teeth. How was he supposed to explain it when Mai was looking at him like that, like he was the villain?
“It wasn’t the same,” he said, and the words felt heavier than he intended. “Jin was just… a distraction. I was hiding. From myself. From everything. It was one date. One night. I didn’t love her.” His eyes searched Mai’s face, desperate for a flicker of understanding, but all he found was the cold set of her jaw, the icy distance she kept like a shield. “With Kei Lo, you —” he bit the inside of his cheek, the words catching in his throat. How could he say it without sounding petty? “You trusted him. You spent time with him. You cared about him.”
And there it was. The real reason his chest felt so tight, like his heart was a fist clenched too hard. Because she let someone in, and Zuko couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t just to get back at him.
Jin: Her heart aches, she sees his pain. The words he carefully placed on her. She still smiles gently, brows furrowing just a bit. Then she wraps her arms around his shoulders, she pulled him into a warm embrace, the kind she would fear that he was slipping from her grasp. “I know you’re scared.. but I made up my mind. There is no other man I want in my heart. You were everything the moment I laid my eyes on you..” She replied gently, she closes her eyes now, resting her head against his shoulder. “If I have too.. I’d jump through fire to be with you. Please, Zuko. I don’t want us to part, not again.”
Zuko’s heart stutters as Jin’s arms wrap around him, her warmth seeping through the layers of his robes. For a moment, he stands there, stiff, his mind a whirlwind of fears and longing. He can feel her heartbeat against his chest, steady and sure, and it terrifies him how much he wants to hold on. He squeezes his eyes shut, his jaw clenching as he fights the urge to bury his face against her shoulder and just breathe her in. It would be so easy to say yes. To forget his responsibilities, his crown, the enemies lurking in the shadows, but if he says yes, it can’t be like it was before. He can’t be reckless with her, can’t just act on impulse. Not when every choice he makes as Fire Lord carries consequences that ripple far beyond him.
Slowly, he lifts his hands, his fingers trembling as they settle against her back. He holds her, gently, like she’s something precious he’s terrified of breaking.
“I don’t want to part either,” he murmurs, his voice thick, the words almost a confession. “But if we do this… if we’re together, it has to be right. I can’t sneak around like before. You deserve more than that. You deserve to be treated like…” His throat works, and he pulls back just enough to meet her eyes. “Like the woman I'm courting.” His thumb brushes softly against her cheek, and his gaze is intense, searching. “If you’re sure… then I’ll do everything in my power to keep you safe. But I need you to understand… being with me means being with the Fire Lord. It means the palace, the court, the dangers that come with it. If you’re willing to face that…”
"So... after all that jealousy over Kei Lo, huh? Who's Jin? You. Hypocrite." - from Mai [ good luck buddy! ]
Zuko stiffened, the weight of Mai’s words hitting him like a punch to the gut. His jaw clenched, eyes fixed somewhere over her shoulder. Jin. He hadn’t thought about her in ages.
“I wasn’t —” He swallowed, the protest dying in his throat. What was he going to say? That it didn’t mean anything? That it was just a distraction, a moment of pretending to be someone he wasn’t? He knew how that would sound. Hypocrite. “I wasn’t trying to hurt you,” he said finally, his voice low, eyes dark and stormy. “But I did. And I’m sorry.” And as he said it, he realized he wasn’t just apologizing for Jin.
Who told Mai about Jin?? Which one of you snitched?
Jin: She is hurt but she locks eyes with him. “I-I know.. that you’re the Fire Lord Zuko.. I know you’re not Lee but I can’t help my feelings for you. Those four years, I always wondered. That magical night.. I still like you… Fire Lord or no. I left my home to find you.. please… Zuko..” His name sounding almost comfortable on her lips, her hand reaching out to gently touch his hand. The warmth only she had been longing.
Zuko’s chest tightens as Jin’s words wrap around him, each one pulling him further into that impossible, aching space between them. Her eyes are wide, shining with a hope he can’t bear to look at for too long. She knows. She knows he’s not Lee. She knows he’s the Fire Lord. And still, she’s standing here, eyes locked on his, her hand reaching for his but all he can think about is how fragile that hope is. How dangerous it is. Because he’s not the boy she remembers. He’s a man with enemies, the son of a tyrant, the brother of a monster who sleeps with a knife beneath his pillow and guards stationed outside his door.
He doesn’t move as her hand touches his, the warmth sinking through his skin and into the hollow ache inside him that shows in his pained expression. It’s been so long since someone touched him so gently. Since someone looked at him as if he were just Zuko; not a ruler, not a symbol, not a man with a nation’s sins hanging heavy around his neck. Just Zuko. But he can’t let her do this. He can’t let her trade her quiet life in Ba Sing Se for a life where she’d be watched, whispered about, and possibly targeted just for being close to him. He can’t let her trade safety for him.
His fingers twitch beneath hers, but he doesn’t pull away. Instead, he swallows hard, his throat tight, and forces himself to meet her gaze. “Jin,” he says, and his voice is rough, raw with everything he’s been holding back. “I never stopped thinking about you. Not once.” His hand tightens around hers, a subtle, desperate squeeze. “But being with me now isn't safe. I’m not safe. The Fire Nation is full of people who would use you to get to me. People who wouldn’t care that you’re kind, or that you don’t deserve any of it. They’d hurt you, Jin. Just because you’re close to me.”
His jaw clenches, a muscle twitching beneath his scar. “I want you. Agni, I do. If something happened to you because of me…” He breaks off, his eyes falling to their joined hands, as if letting go would be the most painful thing he’s ever done.
Mai felt awkward and somewhat self-conscious as she kept her foot hovering in the air while Zuko dutifully went to work, the moment was only prolonged by his longwinded answer that had her cheeks flushing from mild embarrassment at being caught in such a display, but her self-referential feelings disappeared the moment he confessed his own experiences with possum chickens. "Wait, that actually happened to you?" She was just as surprised as she was somewhat amused by the mental image she conjured of an entire training ground sent into chaotic disarray by the creatures, but there was a healthy dose of fear she still possessed for them and stepping in their poop was just about as close was she was wanting or willing to get toward them. Mai's eyes widened as he claimed she'd gotten off easy and she was ready to retort and argue why she felt otherwise until he returned her sandal to her foot and made sure she steadied herself back soundly on both feet before she let go of his shoulder. "If I so much as smell it in the palace, you're burning it." She warned, narrowing her eyes at him and glancing at the offending grown with an expression of disgust. "Can't we please just go home now?"
Zuko felt the weight of disappointment settle over him as Mai spoke, her words hanging in the air like a sudden chill. He had been looking forward to the walk, the quiet time with her after a long day. But now, it seemed like the moment was slipping away. The carefree ease of their stroll was disrupted by this unfortunate accident.
He glanced at her, her eyes narrowed in irritation and that familiar, no-nonsense edge in her voice. A part of him wanted to protest, to suggest they keep going, but he knew better. She wasn’t in the mood for pleasantries or lingering. He sighed softly, setting her sandal in place with an almost reluctant precision.
"Fine," he muttered, trying to mask the hint of disappointment with his usual dry tone. His hands lingered a moment too long, and he stepped back, glancing at her with an unreadable expression. “I just thought... you might have wanted to get some fresh air. Guess I was wrong.”
Jin: You’re really cute. *pucker ups her lips*
Zuko’s body goes rigid as Jin’s words settle between them, her eyes soft and hopeful as she leans in. Her face is close, too close, and Zuko’s breath catches, his heart a heavy, conflicted thud in his chest. For a split second, he’s back in that moment four years ago, sitting across from her in the lantern-lit teashop, pretending to be someone he wasn’t. Someone simpler. Someone safer.
But he isn’t Lee. He isn’t that boy anymore. He’s the Fire Lord now —a man who carries his forefather's sins in a crown that still feels too heavy. He can’t give Jin what she wants. He can’t even promise her safety. The palace walls are thick with secrets and threats of assassination, and Zuko has learned to sleep with one eye open. How could he ask Jin to give up her peaceful life in Ba Sing Se for that? For him?
He grimaces, and before her lips can touch his, he steps back, his expression pained but resolute. “Jin,” he says, his voice strained, a flicker of something desperate in his eyes. “I… I can’t.” Because what if he’s not enough? What if he’s still that boy fumbling through lies and burning everything he touches? What if being with him means dragging her into a life of danger and uncertainty, where every meal could be poisoned and every shadow could hold a blade?
