exchanged love ;
@haesaeron / from here:
she didn’t expect him to have the standard, naive thought. it may be wrong of her judgement to perceive such when her interaction with him is scarce. yet, saeron wondered where such idealization came to his mind. after all, most nobles have agreed with the idea about marriage being difficult. whereas love wasn’t the exact goal as it came in the form of luck down the road. most adults were already preparing her to take such path with a clenched jaw. yet, there was the crown prince of their nation asking her about an ideal of love. did woon held someone dear enough to wish for that?
her expression reflected the amusement that bubbled inside her. her eyebrows woven together. but, it fades to an chirper one once she processed his thoughts well enough to respond correspondly.
“maybe,” she answers first, the first word being a wish for the pairing in front of the pair. “there may be a day where they will stop hurting their bruised feelings and accept each other. yet, that would go against all the sorrows they are facing.” saeron rambles slips a bit. “i wonder if they would let that sorrow go away so easily by letting those emotions be replaced.”
an brighter expression returns to her previous drowsed one. “how about you? do you believe those two will ever fall in love?”
he’s too hopeful -- he’s been told too many times, and his own sister doesn’t have to say it for him to see it on her face. woon regrets the statement -- originally a thought he intended to keep to himself -- from even leaving his mouth, and forming on his tongue before he can control it. at least she’s thinking about it, and not laughing at him for it. god knows what would’ve happened if he said this out loud in front of the queen, or jiu, or the bride and groom themselves. saeron has always been quite understanding of things.
that aside, her response is more thought-out than he expects it to be. it’s certainly no secret among the siblings, it seems, that the grand general and their sister are merely exchanging niceties and acting as they should. among them all, such a trait is learned, if not born into.
“i...am not quite sure,” he responds truthfully. his expression, usually bright, and even more so tonight, dims significantly to that of worry and doubt. he can never be hwan; he can never be always sure of himself. “i hope that they will, though it pains me to see jiu...” he trails off, sighs, and shakes his head, attempting another smile. “it’s tragic, isn’t it, saeron? out of everyone, we’re supposed to have been the lucky ones -- us, born to the king -- and yet...why does it seem like we’re all the lonelier for it?”
