#lightfallsword ● 08

[fairyknight]

● It was awful for the entire possibility of a world to be trimmed away, although it seemed like her Britain didn't meet quite the same end that the others had even if it was gone, nonetheless. It made sense that Eula would find her numbness to it a little unusual. "Hmm... It was a flawed place. I have a lot of bad feelings about it. The only real good there was my mother, so I don't necessarily care about the rest."

That... probably sounded heartless.

"Fairies aren't like how they are in human storybooks, you know. There were a few that were kind, and once upon a time I was one of those ones. But the kind were trampled underfoot by the strong. Used, abused, killed. That was the natural order of the world I come from. Even in the end I was killed through a betrayal, tricked and held hostage, before eventually having my limbs dismembered and my still breathing body tossed into the depths."

Recalling the memory reminded her of how she'd felt back that, and she used her arm to squeeze onto Eula more to remind herself that arm was still there. "I'm sure... some of that was deserved. But I only became cruel because my mother believed it was the only way for me to survive..."

Eula listens attentively to Baobhan's explanation regarding her homeland. Though she seems so casual in explaining, as if it doesn't affect her, the knight can't help but be bothered by it. "That's...awful," and though she tries not to bring down the mood, it feels noticeably more sullen.

"You speak as though it doesn't bother you, but you can't really be that removed from it all, can you?" Eula's less concerned with the merriment of the event now, as she pulls Baobhan away from the crowds of other couples so that they're allowed a bit more privacy.

"You've never spoken to me about this, but I suppose I never bothered to ask either." it made her feel guilty to speak so fondly of her own home when Baobhan's had been taken away from her.

[fairyknight]

● "Mm... I guess it's only natural because mother saved me. Like I said, fairy society wasn't kind. The pure hearted were taken advantage of, and from when I was born I had always strove to be kind." In the past, she'd only really provided Eula with little notes about her history. Never the story in detail, because it was difficult for her to talk about. But now seemed like as good a time as any.

"But I was trapped into being a prostitute and was abused by the other fairies day in and day out. I met mother when she was younger, and she decided to adopt me, effectively making me the princess of Britain."

"Mother wanted me to survive. She recognized that I was too kind for the world and told me to behave cruelly if I wanted to live. I think... she was right. I've told you my hands are stained with blood, and that's why. But just because it was to survive doesn't mean it was justified." Her time in Chaldea had given her a chance to reflect on her life.

She wasn't a good person now, but she was better. She was trying. But it would never make up for the things she'd done for the sake of survival.

Perhaps humans and fairies were alike, throwing grandiose balls and sharing in each other's company. Baobhan has spoken briefly of how fairies tended to carry themselves, this much Eula remembered. Whenever it came to touching her own personal life, that was where she tended to either veer into other topics or make her explanations as brief as possible. The knight could relate, of course, considering her own life hadn't been particularly kind to her. Still, with each new little tidbit she learned about the fairy, it made her curious to know more.

"You speak so fondly of your mother. I have to wonder what sort of person she was. Clearly one remarkable, seeing as she raised someone like you." It almost made her a little jealous.

[fairyknight]

● Baobhan Sith kept her pace with Eula's movements quite confidently. As she was of stronger physical form than her partner, it would have been hard for the knight to outpace her princess anyways, so it was more like Baobhan was slowing down for Eula. "Well, I suppose I can indulge you of all people."

"They were grand, generally. Mother had a flair for grand events, though in retrospect I suppose that might have been because of where she hailed from... But I wouldn't say they were that different from what you're imagining."

"Fairies truly are interesting... but in the worst of ways. They're needlessly cruel, and if you aren't? You would become a victim of that society. I nearly was myself, if not for mother adopting me."

"I believe we very well could, my lady." While Eula agrees that it's nice to be out of the spotlight, the poor attempts of others to be fanciful or boisterous in their own dancing left her feeling dissatisfied. As Baobhan allows her to take the lead, Eula has them in the center of the room soon after, their quickstep guiding the other couples who maneuvered around them.

As they continue to dance, Eula speaks up again, still keeping in time with either of their steps. "Indulge me for a moment, tell me what the balls of your homeland were like. Or I can tell you of mine,"

"I imagine fairies to be more interesting than humans, though."

[fairyknight]

● "Well it's only natural I would get better with practice! You should feel grateful that I've taken the time to learn!" Baobhan offered a playful pout, and if she'd had two free hands she likely would have placed her hands on her hips. Since she didn't have two free hands however, she merely tightened her grip against Eula's body. Not enough to hurt her, just enough to enhance their closeness.

"Mm... As I understand it, my homeland was referred to as a "Lostbelt". A timeline that diverged from the correct history that reached a "dead end". " She hadn't learned the details until Chaldea had summoned her, more or less. "It shouldn't have existed, and so in the end it was destroyed. I was killed before that happened though."

Baobhan's agreeance in speaking little of herself leaves Eula feeling guilty. It wasn't as if she was hiding who she was, only that there never seemed to be a right time to open up about it entirely. Her compliment, however, earns a smile from the knight. "You've gotten much better with your flattery." More earnest and endearing about it, really.

While she had intended to speak more of Mondstadt, Baobhan's explanation of her own world, understandably, piques her interest. She'd heard bits and pieces before, but nothing so certain as the statement she had just made. "I'm curious as to what you mean by pruned exactly." Not to mention that it shouldn't have existed. Everyone had the right to exist. "An entire world gone from existence...it's hard to believe. Surely if we keep looking, we'll find it."

[fairyknight]

● "I am a princess, after all! Or... Well, I was a princess, after all! Events like these were often thrown in my honour." Not because the fairies wanted to throw them for her, mind you. Baobhan couldn't say that she had really ever attended one with a date though. She absolutely was not counting Beryl at this point. "But it's nice not being the centre of attention for a change."

With a smirk, she took Eula's hand to allow her to take the lead.

"Of course, I'm sure we could change that with the two of us dancing together."

"Masquerade balls excite you, don't they?" Balls in general seemed to be occasions where either of them were in their elements. Dancing was a language both of them understood very well, where words would often prove difficult. Eula watches in feigned disinterest as the other couples move about the ballroom. The music, ambiance, and general choreography were good…but she and Baobhan could certainly put them all to shame.

"What say we show them how a real couple takes to the floor?" Now turning to the fairy, Eula offers her hand.

@fairyknight

[fairyknight]

● Baobhan had entered the tea party with her arm wrapped around Eula's, leaning against her shoulder with her head resting on it. It was a sign of how comfortable she had become with her partner. Dressed in a red dress, she had event bothered to dress up all fancily. For Eula. Not for anyone else.

She continued to cling to the knight even as she pointed at an odd looking planet in the sky. It certainly didn't look like Earth. "No, I suppose you haven't. You speak very little of your background, you know? Not that I'm much better, I suppose..."

"But it's blue and beautiful. I suppose you have that in common with your planet." The Servant's grip tightened a little around Eula's arm, like she was worried she'd slip away. That grip tightened a little more when Eula mentioned her world. "Ah, well... Speaking of my world... I suppose it's probably here, but the world I lived in no longer existed. It was a timeline that shouldn't have existed, and so it was pruned."

STAR-DEN TEA PARTY ( @fairyknight )

"There it is." Eula reaches upward, hand retrieving a glowing planet. "This is Teyvat, my home." A perfect mini-replica of the world and continent she hailed from, she gives a satisfied hmph as it hovers in her hand. Eula, who is usually more subdued, finds herself nostalgic at the sight. "I've never spoken much to you about where I come from, have I?" it's unfortunate, really. Though she loved Mondstadt very much, there were also painful memories and complicated feelings as well.

"Well, now would be as good of a time as any to start, don't you think?" Better late than never, after all. "And maybe next, we ought to find your home as well, as I would know more of you."