IN HINDSIGHT dominic would chalk up his lack of judgement to exhaustion. it’d been a long journey, after all. he’d been running on so little sleep their whole conversation very well could have been a hallucination. which might better explain the hearty laugh that burst from his chest at lina’s words, quickly stifled by clasping his mouth shut with his palm.
kathryn shot him an odd look — nothing menacing, more taken aback than anything else — which forced the king to sharpen up. he squared his shoulders, freeing the humor from his face save for shining eyes still fixated on lina. dominic had forgotten what she was like: always eager to cross lines she very well shouldn’t.
“it is indeed.” he agreed pleasantly, through a tight smile. “pardon me for the intrusion kathryn, but i believe we’ll have to take up the remainder of our tour later today.” and to his guards, who kept their distance offsides from the shed. “ — leave us.”
dominic waited until the ensemble filtered out before addressing lina individually, but the shark toothed grin on his face betrayed any faux chastising he’d had ready for her. “seems like you’re adjusting well to your new position.” he smirked. “like any true acacian.”
IT THRILLED HER to get a reaction out of him, especially in front of a group who were oblivious to their secret - in this case, it felt almost like an inside joke. no matter how much time had passed, the connection they shared lingered, forcing her heart into her throat whenever he looked at her. she dropped her gaze quickly, focusing on the dirt floor to hide the smile on her lips and the flush in her cheeks. she used the moments between the group’s departure and dom addressing her again to try to compose herself, biting down on her lip before she met his gaze.
“ yes — ” a smirk formed on her face to match his, “ i think it may be my true calling. “ her current calling had brought them together in the first place, a truth lina often had to remind herself of. although it felt so natural - the two of them alone, reveling in a mutual desire for something DIFFERENT - truthfully it was anything but. and if that were apparent at any time, it should’ve been now, surrounded by aid for wounded soldiers while a war raged only a few miles away.
she wasn’t ready, just yet, to accept that though. “ it suits me, don’t you think? “ she reached down to splay her apron that was stained with ointments and a few stray droplets of blood. took a step towards him, then another - finally, she could see the dark circles that ringed his eyes. she knew full well that he was dealing with a lot and so she wanted to keep the mood light for as long as she could. “ not sure kathryn is going to keep me around after this performance, however. “ she said it, half-jokingly. it wouldn’t be the first time she’d had a job that was over before it began.
“ AS YOU CAN SEE, we’re managing with the supplies we have but it’s a struggle. “ — the head medic droned as they wound their way through the tents. it was the first time the king had been to this particular back line camp, but he found the tour no more or less bleak than all of the rest. resources weren’t scare just yet, but the amount of men the camps were taking in seemed to outweigh the manpower the draft had collected to aid the fight. he nodded along as she spoke, an auran healer named kathryn, and moved in silence with the posse they’d gotten together for him.
“ supplies are beginning to thin out. but we’ve got our infirmary tents stocked for now, and there might be spare bandages in the — “ she hauled the shed door open, and promptly stopped in her tracks. a girl, blonde and wearing a medic’s apron, simply stood in the back of the shed unmoving. dominic froze, as did the rest of their ensemble.
“ aren’t you supposed to be among the infirmary tents, lass — ? “ kathryn said sternly, which sparked the smallest grin at dominic’s lip. right. lina. he figured she’d have to be somewhere among the back line, though he hadn’t expected to see her quite so soon. not that he was complaining.
for the sake of it, he let kathryn go on her rant about ‘useless drafts’ and wishing there were more ‘intelligent helpers’ among the infirmary. he stood unmoving, arms across his chest and eyes shining. he’d bail lina out if she needed it, but more than anything he was curious to hear her explanation —
what the hell was she doing in the back of an empty shed?
AS ANOTHER FIGURE stepped into the doorway, and one more after that, the realization slowly washed over her that she’d been caught, not only by the head medic - who’d already given her a speech this morning about the importance of her role - but by a group which included a very familiar face. she was thankful for the dark that hid the redness creeping into her cheeks as she met dominic’s eyes. was he smiling? her heartbeat quickened - so much for easing the tension after a long day.
at any other time, she’d have a quick remark to counter the head medic’s disparaging lecture, but all she could manage was a quick roll of her eyes. “ i — “ mind couldn’t quite catch up to her mouth before the words spilled out, “ i was trying to find tinctures and got lost. “ she watched kathryn’s expression, something acidic clearly forming on the tip of her tongue before her mouth flattened into a hard line. lina mirrored it. “ very well then, on your way, “ kathryn instructed. lina nodded, but turned her attention back to dominic. “ yes, well, the thing is... i am still lost, “ she was speaking more to him now than the healer. “ perhaps, if it doesn’t impede your tour of the grounds, the king could escort me to the medicine tent? “ she looked between kathryn and dom, a smile of her own now tugging the corner of her lips.
“ after all, “ she added, struggling to feign solemnity, “ it’s dangerous for a lady to walk alone in wartimes. “
THERE HAD BEEN TALK. rumors amongst her brother and his compeers, whispered conversations that halted whenever lina entered the room. no reason to worry, lee, he had constantly assured her. she’d had no reason to disbelieve his avowals; he’d be privy to such information in his position, surely, so she’d taken his word as fact. and then, suddenly (to her, suddenly), war was at their doorstep, finding lina wholly unprepared for the letter that would arrive beneath her own front door. she was lucky, or at least thought she’d been lucky, to be assigned to the back lines - thought maybe she wouldn’t be required to face the brutal realities of a hard-fought battle that lived within a canvas hospital tent.
she had, as it turned out, vastly underestimated the scale of a violent war.
it was early when she’d reported to her assigned station, sun barely peeking through the crack between hill and horizon. she wouldn’t be removing arrows or stitching wounds just yet - today, her job was simply to run, between tents and manors, to fetch water, bandages, whatever supplies may be needed to repair the war-ravaged bodies that crowded every tent. she accepted her task readily, and spent the following hours ducking in and out of tents, weaving through castle grounds, moving as quickly as possible to minimize the damage where she could.
by now, the sky had been dark for hours. the day faded quickly when she kept her head down, eyes avoiding the bloodied faces and ears tuning out raspy cries. the waves of injured soldiers had started to finally slow, but after a trip to deliver a sedative to a particularly battered young man - several years younger than her own brother - she felt the exhaustion seeping into her bones. she needed a break, excused herself under the guise of fetching more supplies and just walked. walked until she found a secluded shed, and relieved to find it empty save for a few dozen bandages, slipped inside.
she moved towards the back wall, letting her weight rest against it. she shut her eyes, trying to erase the images of blood and pierced flesh that played over behind them. breathing out slowly, she started to relax after some time.
she’d lost track of how many minutes had passed when the door of the shed slammed. her eyes snapped open, startled by the sudden intrusion, slightly concerned that she was about to be berated for abandoning her post. “ I’M SORRY — “ she started, squinting to make out the silhouette in the doorway, “ i was looking for something. “
( SYDNEY SWEENEY, CIS FEMALE ) — DON’T LOOK NOW, but is that ( LINA DENAULT )? You know, the ( TWENTY-FIVE ) year old ( COURTESAN )? ( SHE ) resides in ( ACACIA ) these days. I hear they’re quite ( + CLEVER ), but I wouldn’t trust them. They’re also known to be ( - OBSTINATE ), and on the brink of war you just can’t be too careful. If need be, call them the ( BELLE-DE-NUIT ); in this land, that’s what they’re known for.
hi hello everyone! i’m alex! i’m in my 20s and i live in the eastern timezone, i’m usually a forum rper so forgive me if anything ever seems off - i’m still getting the hang of things! with that said, i am super excited to get started :))) if you want to plot or just chat, please im me or add me on discord (shia lebouf’s uggs#0019)! or like this and i’ll come to you!
um this got long so skip to the bottom if you want a tl;dr lol
born in acacia to a blacksmith and a healer, the earliest parts of lina’s life are surrounded in a dreamlike haze when she calls upon them. the family was content, happy even, set to live a simple life in the western kingdom. unfortunately, tragedy would strike - a construction accident while their father worked to build their new home - would leave the denault children fatherless at a young age. lina’s mother took the death of her husband very hard, but continued her work as a healer to provide for her daughter and son.
things were a bit less comfortable following her father’s death - meals were sometimes skipped, garments often worn threadbare - but the denaults remained as close as ever, leaning on each other for support to get through it all. unfortunately, another loss would soon face them - her mother succumbed to a case of pneumonia contracted from a patient, leaving lina and her brother orphaned.
feeling lost - lina was happy to have training to orient herself around, but when that came to an end at 18, she truly felt the absence of her family’s foundation she had always been tethered to. she had one goal - protect her brother, her only remaining family member, as he continued to train as a soldier.
first she took up an apprenticeship with a baker which quickly came to an end when she burned a lady’s wedding cake, and then another with a local tailor. while struggling, once again, to hone the skills that would allow her to advance, she met her saving grace in the form of a wealthy merchant. her flirted with her at first, not the first client to do so, but it was his offer of a better life that truly intrigued her.
finally, able to capitalize off the one thing that had always served her - her looks. he became her first client, the merchant, but slowly, he introduced her to friends - each wealthier and more esteemed - and she charmed them all, until finally she joined the ranks of the women favored by the royal courts.
since she was 20 years old, she’s kept the company of high-ranking knights and nobles. it suits her. she makes a good living by playing into a fantasy, but she can remove herself from it when she returns home for the night. at least, usually. things have gotten a bit messy recently, though.
tl;dr acacian girl, raised middle class for most of her life; turned to prostitution after the death of her mother. has worked serving the courts for the last five years. witty, sarcastic, charming, flirtatious - she puts on a good show of being quite carefree. more manipulative than not - generally keeps people at an arm’s length, but can be more straightforward and honest when she opens up. cares deeply about the people in her life (especially her brother.. make him?), she’s just... slow to care.
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