when the lights dim, the empress accepts it, like she does most occurrences, as an opportunity. she slips past the crowd clamoring before the theater doors; shakes her head at the serving staff offering flutes of champagne; and marches towards a room at the end of the hall, hoping no one is any the wiser.
in truth, marches may be too strong of a word. she would have continued to succeed in achieving it, had the hall retained normal visibility... but as things are now, in the dark, her feet are free to stumble about in a hobble, a ratcheting limp.
finally, after what feels like millennia, the latch clicks shut behind her. she wastes no time; she tears pins out of her hair, stomps her feet free of her shoes, throws herself bodily onto the softest-looking cushion she can find. she doesn't need to look to know that her shins are indented with angry red from the greaves, or that her ankles are bruised from how unkindly she'd taken to the livelier dances---
---but the night is still young, so she merely curls into a ball, clutches the back of her ankles, and prays to the Goddess for a few minutes of reprieve.
of course, that's when the door clicks opens once more. shooting straight up in alarm, she stares at him for a second, two---and then lets her shoulders fall.
a sigh. "I should have known you'd follow me."
When the lights dim, Sephiran is accustomed to guiding himself through the footsteps of others- he has done it before, acting as though nothing was the matter while dodging the rustle of clothing and the heavy floral scent that decorated every attendee.
In the distance, he catches the silhouette of someone slipping into one of the (supposedly) locked rooms. He can recognize her dress even at the briefest of glances, knows her gait well enough to tell that something was not quite right.
He still hesitates- just a moment, debating if it were better to give her space, wondering if he had a right to concern. But concern he had, and so he makes his way to the end of the hall.
She startles when she sees him. Relaxes when she recognizes him.
“Perhaps,” He responds easily, slipping in- shutting the door once again with a click. He studies her for a moment, then sighs. “Pardon me,”
The healing is quick, as it always is, and the moment it fades, he continues, quietly, “I may not be the most reliable otherwise, but I am good with a staff- please, come to me next time.”
Sephiran lingers, just for a breath- as if checking his healing all over again. (It had done its work, as it always had).
“I’ll leave you to rest, Lady Sanaki. Have a wonderful rest of the night,” The door clicks open again, and he turns to look at her (curled, and still so small), and,
“… You look so much like her.”