@tsarevnascphia !!
he waited, patient for her. he did not want to seek her out; he did not want her to think he had been waiting at all. he wanted it to seem like destiny was bringing them together --- as if the world itself could not keep them parted. the thought made him smile, a cruel-shaped gesture. and, suddenly, there she was, walking in the sunlight as if she belonged to it. his smile faded.
( there was a glimpse of yuri in her delicate features, and it was enough. )
“ --- your grace?” he approached her, his voice not quite as warm or soft as he would like for her. ( always an edge, there was always an edge. ) nonetheless, he bowed his head.
sofia. dear, sweet, sad sofia. in truth, he remembered little of her. trying to remember his childhood was like trying to guess where the constellations were on a cloudy night. some days, he could catch glimpses, stories, whole lives playing out; some days, he remembered only bright laughter as forever beat in his heart. other times, it was a haze. maybe the sight of snow drifting down on soft hair or the sound of someone calling him inside. and her? she was always in the corner of his vision, never the focus.
it did not matter. he remembered enough.
“forgive me. i ---” he looked at her again. “i did not think i’d see a friend again.”