#dafne harrison.

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@id1eyouth // harrison

"You are never sorry, are you?"

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@id1eyouth // bloodboiler

"Why did Wraith think you could help?"

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@id1eyouth // harrison

DAFNE'S LAST APPOINTMENT STARTS LATE AND FINISHES LATE. By the time she leaves, the sun is setting, draining color and saturation from her surroundings. She calls a Lyft to take her to the address revealed to her by Phil. It—the Lyft—is expensive. She groans as she confirms it, frustrated and aware of the fact that she has little choice.

The street features expansive, spread apart houses; the Lyft driver murmurs her appreciation, her jealous. Dafne politely agrees in a quiet and inattentive murmur. She has too much else on her mind to be envious of the rich and powerful, right now.

Dafne gets let out, and she hurries the Lyft driver off despite her questioning (Are you sure this is the right house? Is there someone to let you in? It's gotten so late...). She creeps towards the wrought iron gate separating the Key house from the rest of the world. She finds a small call box with a speaker. She dials.

The sound drones.

And drones.

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@id1eyouth // harrison asked: oh, is somebody sulking?

OH, IS SOMEBODY A RAGING TORY ASSHOLE?

Dafne's anger flares then flickers out just as quickly as it'd come up. Her own emotions are pitiful, malleable things. She cannot assert herself over the entity attached to her family line; asserting herself over anything or anyone else is a tricky affair.

Let's try this.

"I know you're smart, Harrison," she manages, "And I know you've lived a life with all kinds of crazy stuff happening, but that doesn't mean—you don't have to talk to me like I'm stupid. You know?"

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@id1eyouth // harrison said: you  know  who  I  am...take  me  as  I  am.

"I am. I will."

Truthfully, Dafne knows very little about Harrison Key. It is not incredibly difficult to look him up or to be practical about the detached manner in which he looks at her, almost always. But it is much nicer to project something worthwhile onto his stony exterior. He does not often object to her delusions.

"And you know who I am." In ways she has never wanted to show herself to actually be in front of anybody else. Naked in several senses.

"I just—wished you could come visit more, you know?"

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@id1eyouth // harrison asked: [ TXT ] : how do you feel after last night?

[ sms: lord harrison key ] scared [ sms: lord harrison key ] tbh im always scared

(Does she need to go out of her way to add, belatedly, that tbh means to be honest?)

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@id1eyouth // harrison

BASED ON CONVERSATIONS WITH ZACHARY (AND A STOLEN MOMENT TO SNOOP IN HIS APARTMENT), DAFNE IS FAMILIAR WITH AT LEAST A COUPLE OF HIS PEN NAMES. She reads fanatically—forcing herself not to develop any further attachment to each piece's shared charismatic, thoughtful author. It's all about getting to know him so that she can subdue him. Subtly control him.

Harrison comes over when Dafne has one of Zachary's pieces open on her laptop. She feels like she's been caught doing something naughty.

Harrison needs a favor. He takes in Dafne's apartment inscrutably, as he often does. Dafne is distracted, still thinking of her laptop open on her bed. Should she tell him? Or—

"I'd read anything you wrote," she blurts.

"I just mean if you ever wanted to publish your thoughts, or your experiences. You know?"

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@id1eyouth // harrison asked for: [ approval ] // [harrison] complimenting [dafne] on a choice they’ve made 

PEOPLE TELL DAFNE SHE'S DONE A GOOD JOB WHEN SHE GIVES THEM A PARTICULARLY STRIKING BLOW-OUT OR TRANSFORMS THEIR SHABBY BLEACH JOB (SOMEONE ELSE'S SHIT WORK) INTO SHINY GREY-BLONDE MAGIC. She has few other accomplishments. Her role as the eldest daughter, the eldest sister, has been incredibly limited. She does not have a place in Sofia or Elena or Olivia's lives as a mentor, a guide. She has not given them anything to look forward to. More than anything else, she is a cautionary tale, a thing to look at and think, well, my life feels shitty right now, but at least I'm not Dafne.

So Harrison Key is pleased with her. She looks up from the shiny marble kitchen island, a little stunned to hear praise so straightforward. Harrison is only ever direct and honest, but—is this really what he means to say?

Usually, Dafne is strange or frustrating or even, on rare occasion, entirely insolent. Now, Harrison tells her, That was a smart move. He appraises her in this rare but satisfying way of his—a way that makes her think he sees her as an equal, not as a scared little girl.

It almost makes her glad to not be separated from Phil and his power.

"Thank you, Lord Key."

She clears her throat. She wants to capitalize on this—to show him that she's as thoughtful and strategic as this work requires. A worthy ally.

"If he sees me with my father, of course he'll start to think about you. He'll open up to me about how he really feels. We'll have more to work with."

She stares down again, all hollow.

"To use against him."